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HILARIOUS GERARD BUTLER MOMENTS

If your day needs a bit of a laugh...

LOVER AVENGED

Acknowledgements:
A big "thank you" to VampFanGirl of Lovin Me Some Romance for sending me an autographed copy of Lover Avenged by JR Ward!!!!

Warning: Spoilers alert!!! Don't read further if you do not want to read spoilers.

My Review:
This book was better than Lover Enshrined. Still not up to JR Ward's old quality. Or, it could be that the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series has worn off a little of it's novelty on me. At least there was no embarassing sissy soprano singing...

It hasn't really been fully explained why Rehvenge shouldn't kill the sympath Princess... It looked to me like it would have been so much simpler if Rehvenge killed her and a whole lot more sensible. But then I guess we wouldn't have a book...

Still worth reading. If for nothing else, then, for better appreciation of the next book in the series. In the hopes that the next book would be better...

Rating: 3 cherries out of 5


Genre: urban fantasy

Excerpt:

Caldwell, NY, has long been the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and notorious nightclub that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King, and leader of the Brotherhood. Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood, even though his sister is married to a member. Because he’s a sympath, his identity is a deadly secret- the revelation of which will result in his banishment to a colony for sociopaths. And as plots within and outside the Brotherhood take their toll against Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in a darkening world- Elhena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him- and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.

Excerpt was taken from the author's website at: http://www.jrward.com/index-books.html on 26/06/2009.

Buy Link:

BEYOND THE SHADOWS

Book 3 of the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks

Warning: Spoilers!!! Do not read if you do not want spoilers.

Is there a song for you, that when you hear it, reminds you of a book?

I was reading the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks when Jai Ho by the Pussycat Dolls hit the top ten. And I kept hearing it all the way I was reading the three books. Now, everytime I hear it, it reminds me of Jarl and Azoth and their special old "greetings" to each other, "Jarl O". And I think that will stick with me for life.

My review:
I liked the story telling-quality of Brent Weeks. I would give the story-telling quality per sey a score of 5 out of 5. And I would have given this book 4 cherries if not for the ending. It is just too, too drawn out. Too dramatic to the point of embarassing to read!!

Another reason this book got lower than 4, is that there are loose ends in the story. Like for example, who is going to lead the people of Khalidor? Since their one stalwart leader has gone mad? And given that they have the culture of corruption and utter domination, I have a hard time envisioning them not deteriorating back to their old ways without a strong leader. From that perspective, it was not a happy ending.

And I really, really did not like it that somebody who has strived to do what was right against all odds for so long only ended up being mad. I mean, the reason I read fiction is to get away from reality, and here, Weeks lets reality intrude. *sigh*

I liked the idea of a VIR. I think that was original of Brent Weeks!

What VIR is (as defined by a reader of Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks) :

Vir is a non-sensient parasitic entity that feeds on the magic of a person. It looks like a moving tattoo on a person's skin.

The Vir gives the ability to tap on the reservoir of magic which the goddess Khali keeps, thereby giving the person who has Vir, more power. And this is what makes Vir very desirable to the people of Khalidor. This is also the only fact about Vir which is known to the general population of Khalidor. The thicker the Vir is on the person's skin, the more power the person has. Therefore, the more Vir a person has, the higher is his status in the male-dominated society of Khalidor.

The Vir is also essentially evil. The more a person uses his/her Vir, the more evil he/she will become. He/she will enjoy doing evil deeds more. The pain and suffering of others will become more of a pleasure to the user of Vir. A person born with Vir can also choose not use his/her Vir so as to avoid the evil of Vir. However this is difficult due to the temptation of power which Vir offers.

The goddess Khali does not necessarily be the real goddess Khali, as long as she has the capability to hold all the magic that is being put into the reservoir as the people of Khalidor prays. The daily prayer that the people of Khalidor practices is actually a spell that transfers a small amount of a person's magic (and/or ?life force) to the goddess Khali or the reservoir which is the goddess Khali. Sacrifice offerings to the goddess also add to the reservoir of magic. The more pain and suffering involved in the sacrifice the more power is harvested out of the sacrifice into the reservoir.

Rating: 3 cherries out of 5


Genre: fantasy

Excerpt:
Excerpt taken from the author's website at: http://www.brentweeks.com/books on 23/06/2009.

Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance — a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom. In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him.Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends-and perhaps his enemies-he must accomplish the impossible: assassinate a goddess.

Buy Link:


Other reviews of Beyond The Shadows:
Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fnatasy (added: 05/04/2010)

PARALLEL SEDUCTION

Book 3 of the Parallel Series by D. Knight

Genre: urban fantasy

The first two books were very good. And that was why I picked this one up. But.... There are just too many paradoxes that some of the story lines contradict each other. And I'm the kind of reader who likes the story to make sense. Then again there are readers out there who does not mind that very much as long as the story-telling quality is good. Which it is, well, for the last one-quarter of the book anyway. For the first three quarters of the book took me about two months to read. I literally have to force myself to finish reading the book just because I do not like "not-finish-reading-a-book". But it was hard going. The thing that saves this book from being a total no-reader is the author's story-telling quality. D.K. can spin a tale even with a very badly plotted paradoxes as this book is. And that is a real talent.

Rating: 1 cherry out of 5


Excerpt:

Warrior Jake Tierny travels back in time to stop a traitor in his beloved king's camp. But when a twist of fate proves the mission unnecessary, Jake is trapped in a time not his own, with friends who cannot learn his true identity. Scott Dillon may be the king's trusted lieutenant, but he is also a man at war with himself, a human hybrid who refuses to succumb to the Antousian nature he abhors-and that Jake Tierny embodies. FBI linguist Hope Harper refuses to let near-blindness keep her from joining the Refarians in their war to defend mankind. Yet her sizzling attraction to both Scott and Jake, and the strange memories they share, force all three to question the core of their beliefs. As their enemies surround them, Hope knows she must choose one man for all time.

Excerpt taken from the author's website at : http://www.deidreknight.com/parallel_seduction.html on 16/06/2009.
Cherry

ELVENBANE

Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

Genre: epic fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


My Review:
Five out of five for the story-telling quality. Three out of five for the story per sey. The book did hold my interest but I just felt that it wasn't as absorbing as the Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. Still made me buy the second book, The Elvenblood. Waiting patiently for it to arrive in the post. And will most likely read more of M. Lackey and A. Norton offerings again.

Excerpt:

When Serina Daeth, favorite concubine of the Elf-Lord Dyran, conceives a half-blood child by him, she flees his wrath into the desert, where she quickly succumbs. But the child, born in Serina's dying moments, is rescued by a friendly dragon and raised with her own draconic brood. As the child Shana grows, she develops prodigious sorcerous powers--so strong that it seems she might be the fabled Elvenbane, powerful enough to free the enslaved humans from their elven oppressors. The dragons come to fear her unplumbed power, though, and cast her out. With a renegade elf-lord and his half-blood servant, and the aid of her remaining dragon friends, Shana prepares to challenge the elfish supremacy. Though battle is joined, a sequel is plainly on the way. Thoroughly rooted in genre traditions--with elves, dragons, unicorns, and sorcerers--but some variations make it more enjoyable than the average example: theses elves and unicorns, for instance, are cruel and dangerous, where in most fantasies they are shining examples of superhuman purity. Overall, then, despite shallow characters and a lack of real tension (we never doubt that Shana and friends will succeed), an entertaining adventure.

Halfblood Chronicles in chronological order:
Elvenbane by Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton
Elvenblood by Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton
Elvenborn by Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton
Elvenbred by Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton

Excerpt and above info were taken from the author's website at : http://www.mercedeslackey.com/books/elven1.html on 15/06/2009.
Cherry

CELTIC NATION WEEKEND

Whew… just got back from the camping trip from the Celtic Nation Show. Which turned out to be not much of a show because of the rain!

And this is the fantastic view from the campsite. Celtic Nation has a website at: http://www.celticnation.co.uk/. The website probably hasn’t been updated for like the last three years or so though, so the info there was true about three years ago. But the vicinity of the location is more or less the same.

This is Mike’s zephyr. Sounds like a dragon to me! As in the dragon Zaphira in Eragon by Paolini…. And no, Mike’s zyphyr is not a dragon, it’s a Kawasaki motorbike. He built it himself.

Cherry
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