Since We're Talking Books...

As the title says...

    We love books, all sorts of books and all sorts of writing including my own which seems to jump start with the onset of Fall. Between writing my own series and blogging this has been added to the list of things I write for.

    Really I write for myself to get the story out of my head but I'm really bad at taking notes. Between myself and Lo we have the same taste and yet different tastes in books. she does like a lot of historical books were I am more of a Horror, Paranormal and Fantasy type of girl. She can read 4 or 5 books at a time, I can't. If I'm into a story then I'm in it until the end, all the way, full focus.

    Like now with Christine Feehans Dark Series. She has so many that it started out as my "In between series" the books I'd read while I waited for new books to be delivered. Don't get me wrong, I love the series but with there being so many I figured that I could take my time but now I've been reading then non-stop and I think its because she did such a good job at separating the stories that I want to read. She places them 2, 3 or 4 books away from the introduction of the character so I have to read through to get that one. Even now the book I'm reading Dark Curse (19) I had been reading like a mad woman to get to since Dark Secret (15) and she has successfully roped me in as I need to get to books 21, 22 and 25 but at the same time I have 2 other trilogies that I'm determined to read so now I'm thinking that I should read those until I have downloaded the next 4. Generally for a series I have to have the next 3 books in line to feel comfortable to continue the read ( Silly I know ) I have book 20 but if I read it then I'll have to continue since 21 is the next one I was driven to get to. At this rate I'll be finished the Dark series by the end of the year and thank goodness for me she has many more series' to read.

    Dilemmas eh? I have the Red Rising Trilogy and The Kingkiller Chronicles and in a couple of weeks Blood Vow  by JR Ward will be released.

    Is this obsessive? I think so but that's fine with me. there are worse things I could be obsessed with.

    Between all of those I am still writing my own series and it has taken a really long time to get that together but the story is becoming solid and the personalities of the characters live and breathe now and I'm very thankful I got to that point. There had been so many that I had started and stopped for fear of where the story would go or I lost interest in them, mind you I started writing when I was around 20 years old and sheer fear of criticism prevented me from taking it seriously. It's only been in the past 5 or 6 years that I thought "Hey...I could actually do this."

    Even if it was just for me I was determined to do it but I took one more step. Thank you Internet... but I took one more step to force myself into not only believing I could do it but making it so that I HAD to do it. Sometimes my posts are regular and sometimes not but they keep coming. Right now I've been so caught up in writing that I haven't editing or posted anything but I will. Being an Avid reader helps inspire me at the same time and seeing all of the authors, reading their work and that escape into other worlds gives me the push I need to make it happen. I always have trouble with what to read next though. Sometimes it's as simple as scrolling through Chapters/Indigo and repeatedly searching until something stands out Like with Demon Cycle and The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Those books I would find myself coming back to when I searched and after seeing them a few times they were on my list to order and I ate them up.

    Book Blogs. I live on them too so that I can get an impression of what others think.

    Have you read any of the ones I've mentioned or know a good read that held you? Something that resonated with you or held hidden meaning?

    So many books...so little time...so not bothered by it.

Heart & Soul-Pop Up Post

I saw these and they spoke to me because really...

I can relate.

I'm sure you do too.

S

Ravage MC Box Set

Well...

    I'm not quite sure what to say here... I read the 5 books within a week for pure entertainment. You know how there is always some kind of transition between type of writing from the last book you read and the next one? I went from Empire of Storms ( which I will write about later ) to Ravage MC by Ryan Michele.

What a change that was...

    Over the 5 books it follows 6 characters the first book is about Princess and Cruz...yes it's about a Motorcycle Club but falls flat making me feel more like it's the Hustler of Erotic/Romance novels. When your so used to reading that kind of thing with different terms used for the sex their having and no not swollen members and heaving bosoms, I don't think I could read a Harlequin Romance if I tried this though is just in a more hardcore manner than I thought even  the Black Dagger Brotherhood was and when I read those I thought they were blunt but...I was wrong.

    The difference for sure is in the writing though. I was an easy read for sure and that's even after having to re-read a lot of it to find the flow because the descriptions could have been much better. Now I'm no expert, very far from it this is just my own opinion of what I read and how it felt to me.

    Where was I? Oh...ya... Princess and Cruz the hard and harder core, short fused love interests for the first story. G.T. and Casey the softer side in the second story and Tug and Blaze out of the three my favourite couple probably because they seem to be the balance and mix of the first two couples. One of my issues was that ok, sure a woman likes a man to take charge sometimes but in some cases especially with Cruz it almost seems like he doesn't care if she wants it or not except that Princess is all for it and doesn't ever say no she loves the gruff, rough commanding man but they are the as I said before hardcore couple so to each their own!

So with that being said I don't have much else to say about this one. The connection just wasn't there but I managed the series because it held entertainment for me if anything because there were some things I had to piece together in regards to the simple movement from one place to another, it was like some essential words were cut out, but seeing as I could download the whole set for $1.49 that should tell you something.

Shouldn't it?

Ok guys, See ya next time!
S

Night Angel Trilogy- Brent Weeks

I have to say that I really enjoyed this series!

    Normally when I start reading a book series it has nothing to do with word of mouth. Sometimes I'll watch a movie or Series that started from a book, most times it's the Author but I have found in the past few years that it's the draw I feel to the book. People can repeatedly say " You should read this!" More often than not it turns me off of the book. So in turn I spend a lot of time on the Chapter's Indigo website or Kobo when I'm looking to buy or download a new book. I'll be looking for one thing and I'll find that my eyes will pass over a cover or I'll read a synopsis more than once before I even think about buying it.

   The Night Angel Trilogy was one of those that I passed by for months as I hunted for new books to escape in. I ordered them and had started reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown but once I got them I put down Red Rising started reading them right away.

The trilogy was on sale for $21.67 CDN and there was no way I could pass that up.

  Way of the Shadows is book #1 of the Night Angel Trilogy. It follows Azoth/Kylar Stern on his journey out of the Warrens (the bad part of town) as a Guild Rat (Thief) to bigger and better things as a Wetboy (Assassin of sorts) according to his Master though "Assassins have Targets, Wetboys have Deaders because Assassins can miss sometimes."

   He starts off at 11 years old trying to survive long enough in his Guild to earn enough money to get himself out. The kid that runs the Guild "Rat" is brutal and violent with thoughts of rising in the ranks. He does so using fear as most want to be overlords do. The Warrens though are run by the Sa' Kage a secret order of  9 that runs various organizations in the city and one of those 9 is Durzo Blint the man that will save that boy from his life in the mud.

   This book gripped me from the beginning and as the world they live in became larger than the Warrens I could barely put it down but you know I had to sleep sometime! I found myself trying really hard to imagine what the characters looked like according to the details given and yes I know we all do that but considering the amount of the illusions and disguises that are going on within the story I don't think that their true forms can really come through and it doesn't even matter. the story was more than enough to keep my interest and as I move through the books I know that I'll attempt to read slower so the story doesn't end but at the same time it's fluid and I just want to keep reading. That's exactly what I did. I went through all three books and have just now finished, so talking about the books as a whole is what I'll have to do because I can't think of how to explain it separately now that I've come to the end. Is it the end?

    I have looked on his website to see if there will be another book and everything leads to no but he says there is a possibility that he will return to the series and I hope so because there looks like there is so much more story to tell! It can't be over there are loose ends...SO MANY! The kinds that leave you thinking about where it could go or for me where I want it to for days...

    This series was a fully engulfed read for me. Like how I felt about the Demon Cycle Series by Peter V Brett the story had me fully and completely by the 3rd chapter. Azoth/Kylar's story was sad and yet full of love from so many different angles that I don't understand how he missed it sometimes but when your and orphan I guess it's hard to recognize.

    In the world of Midcyru so much has happened and so much changed and as tacky as it sounds Love is the big message I took from the series. Despite the blood and death and hatred, love really does make their world go round. So many characters within the story have there own battles to face, Durzo Blint, Doll Girl, Momma K, Logan...the list goes on but at the heart of it all it's Love.

    That's the biggest endorsement that I can give the series aside from outwardly cheering or gasping while I'm reading or in a few cases with the last book I had goosebumps of anticipation going on and almost refused to put the book down but you know...I had to get to work.

I'm a BIG series reader, I love to fall in love with characters and connect with them. I'm hoping as this goes along that I can take that journey with many of you and as always here. Talk Books!

Any question or comments are always welcome and recommendations for a good read as the site gets further underway.

See Ya!

   

WFT Fun Fact #6054

Just a Book fact that makes so much sense!

Thank you wftfunfact.com!

Greetings and Salutations

Greetings and Salutations Fellow Bibliophiles!!

     Welcome to Wolf/Panther Book Reviews.  To say we are your average book review blog would be a huge understatement, and our goal is to share with you our perspectives and opinions on books we're reading or have read.

     We, the Wolf and the Panther, are not your average book reviewers.  Not professional anyway, but we are professional and avid readers who want to share our experiences of books in many different genres.  Our scope is vast and our opinions and perspectives are as different as night and day which will provide what we are hoping for....a good read.

     So, come take our hands and we will walk through some pages together.