No Place Like Home (Remnants, Book 9) by K.A. Applegate

Synopsis
The Remnants are on a mission to promote peace but the Blue Meanies have created a horrifying weapon, and the peacemakers are in grave danger. Yago's plan to rule has finally taken form, and promises death and destruction to everyone in the Zone. How does all this tie into the disturbing appearance of a stranger? Who is he? Can he be trusted? And what about Violet? The secret she hides may be a clue to the evolution of the human race. Secrets will be revealed as devious plots unfold. The fuure of the Remnants hangs in the balance. Can Billy save them? Can he even save himself?

My Opinion
Another wonderful chapter in the life of the Remnants. In this book, the Remnants have decided to head towards Earth, even though they are not sure what they will find when they get there, and it means breaking the Treaty with the other ship's tenants.

We meet a new Remnant, friend or foe, we don't find out till the end of the book. We also learn about some new mutations that our original Remnants have been hiding.

Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Midnight Alley: The Morganville Vampires Book 3 by Rachael Caine

From the Publisher
Claire Danvers's college town may be run by vampires but a truce between the living and the dead made things relatively safe. For a while. Now people are turning up dead, a psycho is stalking her, and an ancient bloodsucker has proposed private mentoring. To what end, Claire will find out. And it's giving night school a whole new meaning.

My Opinion
This was probably my favorite of the three books so far.

This book takes up right where the last left off. Claire has signed the contract with Amelie to protect her friends. But they don't know yet.

This book really centers around Claire and her involvement with the vampires. There is a lot happening as we learn more about the vamps, as well as the humans. The ending is quite the cliff hanger and I can not wait for the next book in the series to come out.

Morganville Vampires #2: The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

Synopsis
Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.


My Opinion
Another great book in this series. It started out a tiny bit slower than the first book but it picked up right away and became the 'can't put it down book' that the first one was as well.

Love the characters and the problems that they face. I totally enjoy the storyline and can not wait to read the next one in the series which I started last night.

Claire is becoming quite the heroine and I can not wait to find out what it is that is so special about her. Eve's brother is scary. Love Sam and now that Michael has joined the dark side I can not wait to see how that all works out.

Glass Houses: The Morganville Vampires, Book I

From the Publisher
From the author of the popular Weather Warden series. Welcome to Morganville, Texas.

Just don't stay out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero.

When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.


My Opinion

Excellent book.

Claire is a super smart 16 year old Advance Placement College student at a college in Morganville, Texas. Besides having to deal with the typical college freshman hassles like dorms and mean girls, she discovers that she also has to deal with an entire town of vampires.

Lucky for her she happens upon the Glass House and it's three tenants, Michael Glass, the 18 year old owner of the house, his best friend Shane, and their goth roommate Eve, when she goes off campus to find a safe place to live.

Thanks to a particularly vicious college girl who has set her targets on Claire, the four roommates find themselves in the middle of a vampire battle that they may or may not come out of alive.

Loved the story and looking forward to starting on #2: The Dead Girls' Dance next.

Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins

From the Publisher
Taking a job on an isolated island in the Sea of Norway, scientist Victoria Scott wants a quiet place to finish her doctoral thesis. But Victoria isn't prepared for the strange shadows outside her cabin window, the rumors of a murderous hag who sucks one's soul during sleep, and the tales of mythic monsters lurking in the forest. More frightening than the island's nightmarish mysteries: to Victoria, everything is hauntingly familiar.

When an enigmatic stranger appears on the island, Victoria's sense of foreboding peaks. For she learns that they are connected by a conflict centuries old--one that can end only with her death.

My Opinion
This is the second Kim Wilkins book that I have read and I loved it. It is quite a bit different from The Autumn Castle though. While Autumn Castle was a darker Urban fantasy, this book was romance with a little supernatural fairy tale thrown in.

I loved the characters and enjoyed the Norse mythology. The ending kind of makes you sigh in relief, exasperation, wonder? But all in all a wonderful love story.

Looking forward to reading more of Kim Wilkins books.

Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 1) by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis
Though a small town at heart, Lawrenceton, Georgia, has its dark side-and crime buffs. One of whom is librarian Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, a member of the Real Murders Club, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It's a harmless pastime-until the night she finds a member killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. And as other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Roe will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game, one that casts all the members of Real Murders, herself included, as prime suspects-or potential victims.

My OPinion
I have to say that I was not overly impressed with this book. It may well be because I have just read both of the first books in Harris' other mystery series, Grave Sight which I liked and Shakespeare's Landlord which I loved. So this book was a bit disappointing.

I did not really like the main character Aurora Teagarden. She is just too frumpy single librarian who is very naive and does not have a great outlook on life.

The mystery aspect of the book was okay. The concept that a string of murders are being committed based on old cases studied by the group 'Real Murders'. It is pretty much a given that one of the members is committing the murders but who it is was well hidden until the very end.

I will probably read more of this series if I come across it, just because I have enjoyed the rest of Charlaine Harris' work so much.

Shakespeare's Landlord: Lily Bard Series, #1 by Charlaine Harris

From the Publisher
When cleaning lady Lily Bard discovers the dead body of her nosy landlord, her plan of starting a quiet new life may end in her death.

My Opinion
Being a fan of Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series and having just finished reading the first book in her Harper Connelly series, Grave Sight, I was very pleasantly surprised with this book. Expecting fluff, I was very impressed with this book, which, while being a lot darker than her other books, had so much more depth and character than I was expecting.

I love the main character, Lily Bard, who after living through a very traumatic past, which scarred her both physically and emotionally, is trying to live a very quiet, simple life in Shakespeare, working as a cleaning lady and keeping to herself. When she witnesses the disposal of a body late one night while out walking, her nice quiet life becomes quite a bit more complicated.

I was very impressed with this book and the depth of the main character. The mystery that Lily faced was fun to try to solve along with her and the involvement of the other characters made this a wonderful read. I can not wait to get my hands on the rest of the series to see what happens next in the life of Lily Bard!

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Harper Connelly Mystery, No. 1

From the Publisher
Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her stepbrother Tolliver as her manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever.

My Opinion
Like Harris' Sookie series this was a quick, good read.

Harper Connelly is a quirky character, but I suppose that can be expected when you are a walking radar detector for dead bodies. lol

I enjoyed the characters and the storyline was good. I figured out the ending for the most part about half way through, but it was still a good enough read to keep me reading. I look forward to reading the next book in the series as soon as I get my hands on it.

Mother, May I? (Remnants #8) by K.A. Applegate

Synopsis
Job has found the Remnants' unbelievable virtual reality in the sky---could it be the Earth? With the defeat of the Babyr, Billy has secured his role as master-programmer and absorbed Mother in the process. If Jobs has really found the Earth, can Billy be convinced to alter the ship's course? Meanwhile, Yago puts his plan in motion to rule the Meanies as their god--what does this mean for the future safety of the Remnants? How will Yago's ambitions clash with Jobs' search for a new home for the Remnants? Courses will change for the ship, for the Remnants, and the future of humankind.

My Opinion
Another good chapter in the story of the Remnants. The Synopsis pretty much covers what happens. Some of the Remnants are content to live on the ship with the recreated neighborhood that Billy has created for them. But some, like Jobs, want to go back home to Earth and this book starts their journey home to an Earth that was broken in pieces 500 years before.

Isolation (Remnants #7) by K.A. Applegate

Synopsis
Three groups race to gain control of the ship and Mother--the ship’s power source and the Remnants’ only chance to create a new Earth. It’s a race against the clock, each other, and forces beyond human comprehension. . . it’s a race the humans may not be capable of winning. And it all leads to the ultimate face-off between Billy and the Baby’s true form. Will the Baby prove indestructible? Will Billy be able to tap hidden powers? Their conflict rushes toward an end so finite, so unbelievable, weapons will be dropped in awe, fighting will cease for a time. . . and new enemies will emerge.

My Opinion
A lot more action in this book than in the last.

All of the aliens; the blue meanies, the riders, the squid, launch into all out war over control of the bridge and ultimately Mother. The Baby, who has been a bit of a mystery until now, shows himself for what he really is and Billy gets pulled into the final battle for Mother.

I think this book is the turning point for this series. We learn a lot in this book about the different alien species and Mother. The battle for control is over and now we get to see how that power is used.