Jacey25's 999 Challenge

This will be my first book challenge ever and a perfect place for me to start (as you may be able to tell from my library). I think I am going to be somewhat challenged to find new books by new authors so that will be fun! I welcome any and all input; including initial categories. Here's what I'm thinking so far :
1. Vampires
2. Witches/Wizards
3. Zombies/Voodoo
4. Psychic/Powers of the Mind
5. The Supernatural in Graphic novels
6. The Supernatural in Manga
7. Young Adult Supernatural
8. Supernatural Series (First book of the series)
9. Miscellaneous
Subject to change I suppose. What are your thoughts on using Manga & Graphic novels as categories; do you think it violates the spirit of the challenge?

Welcome Jacey, you might want to check out my lists as I have some similar categories as yours. A lot of the books in my lists are series books so if you might like them you can check out the others in the series. Happy discoveries & reading!

Thanks Anja; we do have some similar ideas :) I was thinking of doing Anita Blake on my graphic novels as well.

Vampires
(A million titles will work for this)
1. Another one bites the dust by Jennifer Rardin
2. Evernight by Claudia Gray
3. Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine
4. No Dominion by Charlie Huston
5. Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson
6. Vamped by David Sosnowski
7. Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber
8. Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston
9. Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston

Witches/Wizards
1. The Coven by Cate Tiernan
2. Blood Witch by Cate Tiernan
3. Dark Magick by Cate Tiernan
4. Awakening by Cate Tiernan
5. Spellbound by Cate Tiernan
6. The Calling by Cate Tiernan
7. Changeling by Cate Tiernan
8. Strife by Cate Tiernan
9. Seeker by Cate Tiernan

Zombies/Voodoo
1.Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
2. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
3. Soulless by Christopher Golden
4.Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters
5. Empire:A Zombie Novel by David Dunwoody
6. Every sigh, the end by Jason S. Hornsby
7. Zombies in my Hometown by Gary Wedlund
8. Zombie Blondes by Brian James
9. You are so Undead to me by Stacey Jay

Wondorous Powers ... Psychic or Magic
1. The Strange Power by LJ Smith
2. Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine
3. Body Rides by Richard Laymon
4. A Necklace of Water by Cate Tiernan
5. Wraith by Phaedra Weldon
6. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
7. Wake by Lisa McMann
8. Chill Factor by Rachel Caine
9. Windfall by Rachel Caine

The Supernatural in Graphic novels
1. Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher
2. Boneyard 4 by Richard Moore
3. 30 Days of Night- Dark Days by Steve Niles (#2)
4. 30 Days of Night- Return to Barrow by Steve Niles (#3)
5. 30 Days of Night- Bloodsucker tales by Steve Niles (#4)
6. Boneyard by Richard Moore
7. Boneyard 2 by Richard Moore
8. Boneyard 3 by Richard Moore
9. The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

The Supernatural in Manga
1. The Tarot Cafe vol. 1 by Sang-Sun Park
2. The Tarot Cafe vol. 2 by Sang-Sun Park
3. In Odd We Trust by Queenie Chan
4.Bizenghast vol.2 by M. Alice LeGrow
5. Bizenghast vol. 3 by M. Alice LeGrow
6. Bizenghast vol. 4 by Alice LeGrow
7. Bizenghast vol. 5 by Alice LeGrow
8. The Tarot Cafe vol. 3 by Sang-Sun Park
9. The Tarot Cafe vol. 4 by Sang-Sun Park

Young Adult Supernatural
1. Origins by Cate Tiernan
2. Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
3. Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
4. The Dead Girls Dance by Rachel Caine
5. A Circle of
Ashes by Cate Tiernan
6. Eclipse by Cate Tiernan
7. Reckoning by Cate Tiernan
8. Full Circle by Cate Tiernan
9. Night's Child by Cate Tiernan

Supernatural series (1st book in the series)
1. Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan
2. Once bitten, Twice shy by Jennifer Rardin
3. Blood Price by Tanya Huff
4. Secret Vampire by LJ Smith (Nightworld 1)
5. Marked by PC Cast
6. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
7. Happy hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
8. Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
9. A Chalice of Wind by Cate Tiernan

Micellaneous
1. FrostBite by David Wellington
2. A Feather of Stone by Cate Tiernan
3. The Tarot Cafe vol. 5 by Sang-Sun Park
4. Boneyard 5 by Richard Moore
5. The Tarot Cafe vol. 6 by Sang-Sun Park
6. Locke & Key by Joe Hill
7. Damned if you do by Gordon Houghton
8. Death: A Life by George Pendle
9. Under the skin by Michel Faber

Fun! :) I love series. How can you read just one? ;)

I think your own categories are totally fine! I thought the non-typical ones were fun :D Good luck!

For Psychic/Powers of the Mind--if you want to go old school YA, I loved LJ Smith's trilogy Dark Visions. :) One of my favorite "book crushes" Gabriel is in those books :D

Oooh thank you so much for the psychic reccomendation. I love LJ Smith and have been known to have crushes on her characters before; I will definitely take you up on that reccomendation!
As for the series; no I probably won't read just one if the others are good but I wanted to force myself to branch out into other series :) Please chime in again anytime with more reccomendations-I will already benefit from your reccomendations as is!

Today I read Vamped V1 (towards my vampire category) which has been lying around and I hadn't gotten into the last time I picked it up. Today I did and read the whole thing and wow what a great story. I thought the writer did a great job of keeping the main character sounding like a real person and the story ended up being far different than I expected- it was touching! I really enjoyed this; it has a few gory scenes and may not be for everyone but if you have a thing for vamps and/or the supernatural I definitely reccomend you give this a try for something refreshingly different. There are child vamps in the book but this is no Interview with the Vampire.
Four stars

FYI on Glass Houses. You might want to have the second book on hand as it ends in a "you want to throw the book through the window" cliffhanger. Otherwise it is an excellent story!

Also, if you don't mind a manga suggestion I love Her Majesty's Dog and it fits well into the supernatural catagory. Psychic Power Nanaki is another one I really enjoyed.

Good recommendations! I might check out both Vamped and Glass Houses (and the second book apparently!!)

I'm excited!

I just started the Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow - she's a bit more about the action and violence...but I really like it! She might be a good one for "first book in a series" :D

Good luck! And don't forget about dark visions...maybe I should re-read the series for the challenge. Is that cheating? XD

I don't think re-reads are cheating, I have a couple on my lists.

I wish I could use the Dante Valentine series- read it and loved it; especially Japhrimel & Dante's characters. I might read the Night Shift book for first in a series; I've had that kicking around for a while and haven't gotten into it yet.

In Odd We Trust S.in.M1 (lol) is a stand-alone prequel to the Odd Thomas series in Manga format. The artwork was very simply drawn (honestly too simple for my taste) but I did enjoy the way Odd & Stormy looked. Stormy Llewellyn is in this book where it was a prequel and it's both nice & sad to see her again. The story is also very quick & simple- this may serve as a good introduction to the series for those who haven't read any of the series (by Dean Koontz ). The book was very faithful to the series.
Three stars

Someone please send suggestions for my Witch categories that aren't Anne Rice or romance (or Kim Harrison- I've read her). I'm ready to give up & re-name that category
#17 PS thank you for the Manga suggestions I've heard a lot about Her Majesty's Dog and may have to give it a try

Yay five out of nine categories with nine books in them .... phew. The graphic novel & manga categories should fill easily as well. I have to say that I reserve the right to change my about what I'm reading though...

Jacey, if it doesn't need to be Urban Fantasy and you are also considering pure Fantasy then I suggest you check out Michelle Sagara's "The Chronicles of Elantra" Series and also Maria V. Snyder "Study" Series. One of my other favorite Fantasy Series is Morgan Howell's "Queen of the Orcs" Trilogy. For Urban Fantasy Magic books check out Ilona Andrews "Kate Daniels" Series.

Not to sounds like a broekn record but LJ Smith also has a trilogy about witches call the Secret Circle. I read that trilogy so much the covers are falling off :)

Terry Pratchett (whom I love!) has a fun wtiches storyline in his Discworld Books.

I added a couple of Kelley Armstrong Otherworld books to my witches list...but I'm also looking for some good witches books, too :) I've also read the Rachael Morgan books so...if you find any good ones, let me know!

Good luck :)

#24 I might try those... I tend to be oddly picky about fantasy sometimes though. I do have the first Kate Daniels book lying around somewhere... I guess I should find & add in :)
#25 Was the secret circle the series with Diana in it? If so I agree; I love that series. Also a very big fan of Miss Armstrong....
I added in the first book of Prachett's witch series; if I like it that will help flesh it out.
I really want to find more witch books like the ones Armstrong & harrison write as well ....

I think Equal Rites is the first book for Witches :)

#22 & 26 have you already read the Diana Tregarde series by Mercedes Lackey? I read the Diana Tregarde Investigatesbook last night and it was pretty good. It was a 3 in 1 book (you might not want to read the 3in1 but you can find them seperate in amazon)...so guess what? Now I have to find the rest of the series!I know it wasnt a very long series but I was able to keep up with the stories but they connect if ya know what I mean....Kindof like glass houses.

#26 And about Terry Prachett did you read Wintersmith? I loved that book thats what made me go and look for more of his stories! Did you know that they made movies out of some of his books?

I found the description of the Diana Tregarde book on sfbc.com I thought you might wanna know what it was about with out having to look it up.

Long before Buffy showed the world how tough girls could be, Mercedes Lackey created Diana Tregarde. Diana is a Guardian charged with saving innocents and destroying evil wherever she finds it. Because if she doesn't, evil will find her—and kill her first.

In Children of the Night, Diana is running her friend’s occult shop in New York City when trouble does finds her. Mr. Trouble, as she calls him, is a vampire whose psychic power makes her radar go off the charts. So when she discovers that he’s the new benefactor of ex-boyfriend Dave Kendall’s band, she’s not surprised to see how bad Kendall looks. It will take all of Diana’s power—and the aid of a sexy vampire protector with a score of his own to settle—if she’s to save Kendall now….

In Burning Water, Diana gets a call from Detective Mark Valdez, an old college friend turned cop. When Valdez realizes that the serial killer stalking Dallas is not human, he knows he needs help. Unfortunately, Tezcatilpoca, an angry Aztec god, is on the rampage and Diana fears she’s met her match. But as luck would have it, Texcatilpoca isn’t the only god in the world.

In Jinx High, Diana is summoned to Oklahoma by an old friend who fears that his teenage son is in supernatural danger from a fellow classmate. Faye Harper, the “it” girl with a mean streak a mile wide, is actually a sorceress whose power is disturbing. So disturbing, in fact, that an ancient being who slumbers underground is being awakened by it…and all hell is about to break loose—literally. Jacket art by Chris McGrath. (Approx. 800 pp.) 1989-1991.

Wow that sounds good; thanks for the find. I wonder where I can fit those in (category-wise) hmm...

It could go in the :

1. Vampires
2. Witches/Wizards
3. Zombies/Voodoo
4. Psychic/Powers of the Mind

It has all of those in there...especially 1,2 & 4 but that is if you read the 3in1 like I did

So I read Glass Houses this weekend and wow I was impressed; I got hooked right into the book from the opening scene- probably because I could emphathize with the broke picked on character :) I devoured the book in one sitting and am now reading The Dead Girls' Dance. i would definiteyl reccomend the series without prejudice against it being a YA series although I do wish they didn't make so much of Claire being 16!!!! and the boys and Eve being 18!!! (Kinda annoying but I guess that was how it was when you're a teenager lol). I do have a crush on Shane right along with Claire (it helps that Shane has always been a fav boy name of mine and I had a crush on a real life Shane of my own in college- sadly it never panned out..). I love Eve as well and her style makes me covet her wardrobe. Michael is pretty eh for me though.
Last night I read Soulless which I didn't get into immediately but it was a decent zombie story once it picked up. Perhaps it was because I read it after Glass Houses which I liked so much but the characters in Soulless just didn't really grab me. If you're into zombie novels it's worth a read I suppose. It's a YA book also.
Glass Houses Four Stars
Soulless
Three Stars

If you need recommendations for your witch/wizard category I would suggest the The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. I read them a few years ago and really enjoyed them.

#34 Thanks for the reccomendation!
I will have updates thoughts/mini reviews coming on the following books: The Dead Girls Dance, Tarot Cafe, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow probably a little later today.

Tarot Cafe was a very charming and very very fast read. It had three small stories that were told in relation to the tarot card reading (the back story). When the last card was pulled the reading would be finished and we would see the end of their tale (not always a traditional happy ending). I dabble in Tarot cards myself and I really enjoyed that the tarot cards (with the artist's story related imagery) were shown and the meaning were given in side notes as well as hearing Pamela (the tarot card reader's) impression. I can't wait to read more- I'm hoping to pick up something useful as well as enjoy the tales. Thus far the paranormal characters have included a wishing cat, a vampire and a pixie (I think it was). Reccomended
Three and a half stars

The Dead Girls Dance was yet another fantastic installment in the Morganville series that absolutely gripped me and pulled me through the book. I may have been slightly more fond of the first book but only slightly (and first books are always usually best anyways). Claire is still very very good at raising more trouble than her group can handle but so are her friends. This book picks up right where the cliffhanger of book 1 left off and the tension and problems continue all the way through. There is a surprise (I could see it coming though) in store for one of group of four as well. I really love this series and .... um I think it's better than the Twilight series IMO- it's way more to my taste (more drama/tension/action less love & longing).
Highly Reccomended
Four stars

30 Days of Night Dark Days is the sequel to the original 30 Days of Night which of course spawned the movie which Josh Hotness, I mean Harnett. The first comic book is fantastic- atmospheric, moody, creepy, gorey, adrenaline infused .... probably far superior to the movie. This follow-up volume fell way flat for me. It follows one of the leads from the first graphic novel as she (Stella) attempts to reveal the existence of vampires to the world. I think it was just poorly done for the first 2/3rds of the story- slow, awkward ... not well introduced or built up. The last 1/3rd of the story was interesting again though. The artwork remains visceral and haunting.
Two and a half stars (only because the last 1/3rd was interesting and the artwork was good)
30 Days of Night Return to Barrow was really a re-vamp of the first story. Stella is no longer the focus instead we follow the story of the latest to fill the sherrif shoes in the town of barrow now three years after the incident. It was a lot like a do-over of book one but that made it far superior to book two so...
Three stars
Overall the only book of the series I would reccomend to anyone is the first but I would definitely reccomend the first volume 30 Days of Night.

Thanks for the reviews! They totally help in terms of picking other books. :D

Josh Hotness, I mean Harnett.

Ha! Love the slip. ;) I have a 30 Days of Night book somewhere I should probably add to my list, too. Loved the movie!

#39 You're welcome! I always like to give & get books opinions :)
#40 He's a cutie; I hope the 30 Days book you have lying around turns out to be the first one lol. Which brings me to:
30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales the most recent installment I finished and the 4th in the series. I have to say it will be the last in the series for me. This book has two standalone stories; the first shows a man battling with his recent transformation to vamp & the second has a "P.I." (or is he?) going to a town in Mexico to investigate the disppearance of reportedly 400 of the their girls. The first story was fairly enjoyable for me- I liked the main characters conflict about his new desires and continued love of his ex-girlfriend. The second was imitally somewhat amusing due to the P.I.'s habit of doing his own quite audible "hard boiled detecive style" thoughts on the folks he encounters but ultimately it degenerated into a tasteless & unnecessary mish mash of violence (and being a large fan of the horror genre it takes a lot for me to say that- I often forget to warn people of gore lol). You can pick this up and read it without reading anything else in the 30 Days series but honestly I don't know why you would want to.
Three and a half stars for the first story, Two for the second overall a very generous three stars (helped by my continued appreciation for the talent art work wise) Not reccomended

On a seperate note as you can probably tell from my thoughts on the book I am totally hooked into the Morganville Vampire series and so glad I joined this challenge which has finally gotten me around to reading those. Sadly I've been using the library and they have gotten beyond purchasing book four :(
I'm sure some of you have read her weather warden series .... I do have Ill Wind at home but haven't got around to reading it yet. Is it as good? It is really romancey? I'd appreciate your thoughts!

I like the series! It's refreshing - they have an alternate society that's hidden from the regular world (think Harry Potter). Often times, those worlds can be confusing, but this one seemed to make a lot of sense.

There's romance, but that's a nice secondary seat to the main story line.

Enjoy!

Caine's Weather Warden and Morganville Vampire books are two of the only series I consistently make sure I keep up with. Ill Wind was my favorite book of the WW series so far.

I also love the Rachel Morgan books :D I bawled in one of the books....!

Sounds like pretty good arguments to make sure I read them :)
Thank you!

So I've finished a few more, mostly on Sunday that I'm getting around to talking about now: Bizenghast vol.2, Bizenghast vol. 3, Boneyard vol.1, Boneyard vol.2, The Thief of Always (the graphic novel) & Midnight Alley. These were all graphic novels or manga excepting the latest (for me, the third for everyone else) installment of the Morganville.
Reviews to come below...

The Bizenghast series revolves around a young girl, Dinah who has lost her parents, & is living with her aunt in a creepy converted house prior boy's reform school (& previously to that a mental institution). She is a bit mentally unstable (not surprising). She and her best friend Vincent discover a cemetary in the woods and she becomes bound in contract to return every night to the place & free the ghosts one at a time. Vincent helps her despite having no obligation to.
This is quite an engaging manga series with appealing artwork. I can't put my finger on why I like the series but I do and reccomend it. These books see the "trials" (freeing the ghosts) becoming increasingly diificult while other challenges develop.
Both volumes Three and a half stars each

The Thief of Always was the only Clive Barker book I ever liked and not only did I like it ... I loved it! The story is now available in graphic novel format (a must buy!) and the integrity of the tale is not lost at all. There are beautiful watercolor style pictures which are a delight to see.
The story itself deals with a boy who has been "swallowed by the great grey beast of Februrary" such a fantastic line. He is bored and wishes his time away only to be visited by a man named Rictus who offers him a holiday, just across town where it is sunny and beautiful.
He goes and rejoices in the this place called the "Holiday House" for every season is had everyday and Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas come every night and you only have to wish for whatever you want and it will be under the tree on Christmas. Of course, I'm sure you can see there might be trouble lurking under the surface.....
I can't say much except that I loved this book the first time I read it many many years ago and have loved it every time I've read it since. I greatly reccomend the tale and also the graphic novel version which is gorgeous and very very well done.
Four and a half stars- near perfection

Boneyard vol.1 & vol. 2 are the tale of man who inherits property from his grandpa which is almost immediately followed with an offer from the town to purchase the land. He travels out to sell the land and iscovers his inheritance is a boneyard and the townsfolk are massed waiting for him to sign the paperwork so they can burn (good old fashioned mob with torches). He meets the residents of his boneyard; an alluring vamp chick, a skeleton, werewolf, swamp girl, frankenstein, witch, demon .... and more. They ultimately win him over and he refuses to sell. In the second novel he is up against a mountain of back taxes & an inheritance tax which overwhelm him (half a million dollars). The two premises of the series thus far are that everyone wants the graveyard- why? & will he fall for the alluring vamp- Abby.
This is a nice enough story- neither the most or the least compelling series I've picked up. The art is very simple black & white renderings; not entirely to my taste as far as how the characters look but tastefully (and sometimes amusingly done). I will continue reading & may look up another of Moore's series - Far West as well.
Three stars (both)

Midnight Alley installment #3 in the Morganville vampires series started out alittle weaker for me than the first two novels but quickly began yet another fast paced romp. In this book Claire has begun studies with a fascinating & dangerous vampire, Michael & Shane are still at odds & trouble is still hot on all of their heels (especially Claire's). Once again the book ends on a note that has me dying to track down the next installment ASAP. I thought it was interesting that the short 3-4 page "Eve's diary" section was missing from this book- I'm not sure if it was the copy I have or not. To be honest I wasn't into re-reading the events of the book from Eve's perspective anyway, I skimmed it at best and am glad it's gone. Very reccomended still.
Three and a half stars

It's been a busy few days since I last posted... I've read/finished: Feast of Fools, Boneyard vol.s 3,4,5, Bizenghast vol.s 4 & 5, Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Ill Wind, & Generation Dead (and I read a pretty good non-supernatural book last night called The Next Thing on my List. highly reccomended Reviews to come

I just finished reading Generation Dead and loved it, what did you think of it?

Generation Dead Teenagers (only) have returned to life and are trying to fit back in. Phoebe falls for one of them; Thomas, while her best friend Matt crushes on her. Meanwhile the rest of the school is struggling to accept the "zombies" and there are some who aren't fond of them at all .... or a living girl dating one. I was pretty sucked in by the end of the book but there were quite a few moments on the way there that I was underwhelmed by the author's writing. I felt he spent to much time on "thoughts", there were a lot of conversations occuring internally that didn't work for me and I didn't think he had a good teenage voice; some of the things he had them thinking didn't seem like anything a teenager would ever think. But the story is unique and compelling "biotically challenged" aka "zombies" are struggling against "bioism" (racism against them). I do look forward to reading the next in this series Generation Dead Kiss of Life (especially as the book ends in a way that you are compelled to learn more). A fun read overall despite the awkwardness of the writer's voice at times.
Three stars

#53 I used your question as an impetus to get around to reviewing the book :) I am eager to pick up the next one.

I thought It was pretty good for a first book in the series and I too am eager to read the next one I think there is alot of room for this series to become great.

Feast of Fools lots of big things happening in this book; there's a new vampire in town who scares everyone (including our scary & nice vampires). Claire's parents have relocated to Morganville ... and all the usual trouble. This book builds up to the welcome ball that Amelie will be holding for Bishop while everyone holds their breath waiting for the volatile situation to erupt. One thing that's basically guaranteed with these books- they start intense and end intense, cliffhangers galore.
I am very very hooked on this series and think it's better than a lot of adult paranormal series! I can't wait for the next installment, once again highly reccomended.
Four Stars

Once Bitten, Twice Shy is about the super secret CIA team of Jaz, a young woman with a lot of baggage and a black cloud over her, & Vayl, a centuries old kick butt vampire, who have been assigned to neutralize a plastic surgeon who has been sending money to terrorist operations. This is one of those books I've seen many times but thought it didn't sound right for me, if you're in the same boat I reccomend you pick it up and give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book despite being so not into spy, CIA type ideas. The Jaz Parks series thus far is good fun- reccomended.
Three stars

Ill Wind Joanne is a weather warden who works to control storms and prevent natural disasters but at the moment it's her life that's out of control; she's on the run from her fellow wardens who suspect her of murder & bad weather seems to be chasing her. She is running of time to clear her name and herself.
I've had this book lying around for a while and could kick myself for not picking it up before now. Rachel Caine (IMO) is becoming synonymous with a good read. This book like her Morganville series is a fast paced exciting read. Highly reccomended. The end has a twist I didn't see coming and I am interested to see where it goes from here.
Three and a half stars

Bizenghast 4 is an interesting installment in the series of Diana with a shocking event. I am pretty immersed in the trials and eager to see where things go. Diana has paid a high price thus far for her actions (far higher than I would have guessed she'd have to pay). The artwork continues to be beautiful.
Four Stars
Bizenghast 5 picks up after the shocking events of book 4 and honestly doesn't do too much with them. Regrettably book 6 won't be out until this summer.
Three stars for a disappointing lack of plot

Boneyard 3 has the gang trying to put together a beach issue with the girls in swimsuits to raise the cash to cover Michael's tax debt. Unfortunately Glump (the demon) decides to put mind control suggestions to bend all humans to his will in the issue.... The series is sweet and I am still somewhat interested, it's not a huge time/energy commitment to read but I'm not truly grabbed still.
Three Stars
Boneyard 4 Michael's tax debt has been cleared and he is grateful (unfortunately he has the wrong person that he's grateful to) and in the meantime the town is being overrun by zombies from the graveyard! This issue moves a bit quicker and ends on (what I thought was) a cliffhanger.
Three and a half stars
Boneyard 5 The book begins with an apology from the author and the end of the story arc from book 4 before picking up with dual story lines: Abby is posing as a camp counselor to try and stop a powertool crazy serial killer & the gang is being knocked out back home by a pumpkin headed feller who puts them to sleep. This is my last volume of the series, there's only one more published anyways. I never found the characters to be fleshed out, the ending felt like trite little neat bows placed to end a book.... it never truly worked for me and i felt like this book exemplified it more than the others. You might try it anyways, Richard Moore is pretty highly regarded and perhaps I just don't get it.
Two and a half stars

Bonus non-paranormal review The Next Thing on my List is the story of June who is just an average thirty something year old woman who has been drifting through life until the night she gave someone a ride home and killed them.... by accident that is in a car crash. She finds the girl Marissa's list of things to do before turning 25 and eventually becomes inspired to complete the list before her.
This was such a fantastic book, it was a great example of the type of chick lit I love in which the heroine changes her life and happens to meet men along the way and date/fall in love or not. Highly Reccomended
Four and a half stars

Jeez I've been super lazy about posting and have read a TON of books ... I must post about them soon before I forget about them... I saw that others have been reading & enjoying Wake which is one I recently read & liked too.
I will see if I can get around to updating all the others soon -a highlight has been the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan . I just finished the 13th in the series and loved them- they will be in my witch category :)

Sweep series? witches?! i'm excited! any more information? general info, etc :D

Ya...... I heard of that series but don't really know what it's about so ya any info would be great.Thanks

I read the first three and they are great quick reads. I haven't gotten around to getting the rest but I'm glad to see that you liked them!

It's a fantastic series; it's YA lit, the books are very thin quick reads and you will be sucked in instantly. It's hard to say too much without revealing plot twists but the basic premise is that the hot new boy in school is a witch and he gets some of the kids at school to form a coven. Morgan (the main character) & her best friend both have the hots for him and join the coven ... and it goes from there ... a lot of things happen. Line up as much of the series as you can and go to town, I know I had to have the next ones ready to see what would happen next. She wrote another series called Balefire which I am going to start after I finish the last two books in the series.

This series sounds really awesome I will definately give them a try. Thanks for the info! :)

I love witches and covens! :) (thanks to lj smith and the secret circle trilogy....!).

SO EXCITED! :D Thanks for the info!

I have a few on my tbr shelf, wanted to wait until I have them all before reading, which may be a while, don't know about US prices, but here in the UK they are quite pricey, considering you have to buy 13 of them it's going to be close to £80 to buy the rest for me to read. Keeping an eye on ebay...

So I've read the Balefire series by Cate Tiernan as well now. This series was way shorter (just four books) but also good. It's the story of two identical twins seperated at birth (oh the cliche lol) who are brought together as teens. Both come from a line of witches- one (Clio) has been raised as a witch, the other (Thais) has not but is about to discover her heritage and together they will both discover many secrets & a few skeletons in their family tree. The story is set in New Orleans which is pretty great as it lends a natural air of suspense to the proceedings. I preferred the Sweep series but really enjoyed this series as well. Reccomended
Four Stars

I realized that I've never touched back upon the Tarot Cafe series but I want to because IMO the series goes way downhill after book 3 or so and becomes a convoluted examination of Pamela's past that was a bit hard to follow, I also sometimes found it hard to tell which character was which (and who was a guy and who was a girl). Completely just my opinion but I don't reccomend it after volume three it's about two/teo and a half stars for me.

Locke & Key, the graphic novel by Joe Hill (who incidently is the son of Stephen King) on the other hand is a book I'd reccomend. The graphic novel picks up with the murder of the father by a very disturbed schoolmate. The family decides to move across country from CA to the old family home in MA called Lovecraft where the uncle currently lives. As the individual members of the family cope in their own ways with their own individual fall out and problems from this horrific event they are soon to find that their is more terror to come as the murder escapes and goes in search on them once more .... they will also find the house has a few dangerous secrets of its own.
This was fantastic and I can't wait to read more into the series, Joe seems to have his father's gift for creating very realistic characters (in what could be called "just a comic" but it's so much more).
Reccomended Five Stars

Frostbite by David Wellington is a free serial novel that can be read on his website. It's a gritty werewolf tale that is more akin to horror than paranormal fantasy. The tale is engaging and fast moving with a nicely woven back story fleshing out the events of the present. My one true deep regret is that there will probably never be a sequel, this doesn't appear to have ever been published outside of the web.
Reccomended Four stars

Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast was an interesting first read. Apparently she drew her daughter into writing the novel with her to make it more hip for the kids but honestly I found it awkward and a failure when it tried to be hip, then again I am an old lady of 27 now so who knows? lol Other than those issues the story was fairly interesting, Zoey was an interesting character- I liked her native american heritage and how it was tied into her new life as a vampire intiate. I also like the interesting twist on becoming a vampire- it's not a bite thing, you're marked and you may die .... and people did die in the book. It also seems to tie some witchcraft into the vampire rituals which was neat as well. Overall it's a promising start and I will be continuing to read and see where the series goes.
Reccomended Three and a half stars

Evernight by Claudia Gray is a very similar book that I read a day or so after the start of the House of Night series (I'm curious as to who went first because there's a lot of similar ideas). I don't know that I like the heroine's choices towards the end of the story which probably skews my view a little and I didn't like her choice of love interest either. I did very much like her mom and dad and some of her classmates as secondary characters though. I'm not sure if this is/will be a series but I would probably pick up the next book. Overall this tale of an outcast at a rich boarding school was just okay for me. There is a nice plot twist about 1/3-1/2 way in that I didn't completely see coming which will keep you engaged with the book.
Neutral overall - Three stars

Secret Vampire by L J Smith is the first in the Nightworld series and it was an intriguing introduction to their world. Poppy the main character finds out that she is dying of cancer within a few weeks. Her best friend James cannot stand by and watch her die when he can save her- even if it breaks all the rules and risks his own existence.
This was a fairly good read, I remember liking The Secret Circle & The Vampire Diaries more but am interested to read more of this series as well.
Reccomended Three and a half stars

Wake by Lisa Mcmann was one of the more genuine teen novels I've read in a while. The voice sounded realistic not contrived. She is not a pampered girl, she has difficulties & perserves- working & saving for college all the while. The storyline is intriguing- she is pulled into your dreams against her will and then learns she can help the dreamer. I very much look forward to reading the next book in the series Fade.
Very much Reccomended Four stars

Undead and Unworthy by Mary Janice Davidson is the latest Queen Betsy tale and the author promises this begins a new story arc - I'm guessing it's supposed to be a grittier more kick butt Betsy. In this story our recently married queen must once again step up to a crisis to keep her friends safe & have peace reign again by the end of the book. If that sounds sarcastic it's meant to- these books are becoming very formulaic with little character growth and IMO it's a frustrating waste of lots of creative ideas. The romance is basically dead, Betsy is married off & nothing really new & exciting happens anymore. The book prior to this was loaded with lot's of exciting events but this book is a waste of pages. I'll tune in one more time to see if things spice up but am almost ready to write this vamp series off completely.
Obviously not reccomended
Two and a half stars

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber was a very very light immature book about a gothy teen who meets the new boy who has moved into the creepy house on the hill and he might just be the man of her dreams because he might just be a vampire. Not a bad book but it was so very obviously geared to 5th & 6th graders that I didn't enjoy it at all. To be honest I can't imagine an 8th or a 9th grader enjoying it either.
Reccomended for 6th grade but not above
Three stars

Zombie Blondes by Brian James is the story of a girl who is always the new girl- Hannah. Her dad is forever moving them from town to town as he becomes unable to pay the rent and she just wants to make friends & stay some where. Be caeful what you wish for.... Lukas takes Hannah under his wing because he is afraid that she's pretty enough to draw the attention of the popular crowd who will make her a zombie just like them. Hannah thinks he's crazy and imagining things, Hannah wants to be popular & be a cheerleader...
This was a fairly decent book- the premise itself of the blonde cheerleaders being brain eating zombies is in of itself fabulous. The book had a few spooky moments, it wasn't the best read ever but it was pretty decent.
Neutral three stars

Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston is another sizzling hard boiled tale of Joe Pitt who is once again "working for the man" as enforcement. Joe's girl is getting worse and he has begun to wonder if he can watch her die without attempting to turn her .... Meanwhile Terry sends Joe to build alliances in Brooklyn but Joe has never been good at winning friends ....
These stories sometimes start slow for me but before I know it I'm hooked and craving the next tale. Joe Pitt is the most bad-ass old school noir vampire that I've ever had to the good luck to come across in print, this tale ends with some very unfinished business regarding Joe's girl and I am rushing to get the next installment.
Reccomended three and a half stars

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine is the latest installment in the Morganville series (with another book headed out this summer). The tale picks up in the fall out of the deadly challenge that has arisen between Amelie & Bishop with all the humans and vamps picking their sides and preparing for battle ... at the same time a twister is headed for the town. Lots of skull-duggery and action as everyone sneaks around to prepare for the showdown and the sub-plots grow. This was yet another great entry in this series, I can't wait to continue reading (as of course everybook ends on some sort of cliff hanger or another). I continue to love the characters in this book as they grow through out the series.
Reccomended Four stars

More Supernatural in Manga
1. Death Note Vol. 1 by Tsugumi Ohba
2. Death Note Vol. 2 by Tsugumi Ohba
3. Death Note Vol. 3 by Tsugumi Ohba
4. Death Note Vol. 4 by Tsugumi Ohba
5. Death Note Vol. 5 by Tsugumi Ohba
6. Death Note Vol. 6 by Tsugumi Ohba
7. Death Note Vol. 7 by Tsugumi Ohba
8. Death Note Vol. 8 by Tsugumi Ohba

More Supernatural in Graphic Novels
1. Tales from the Crypt Ghouls Gone Wild by Don McGregor
2. Tales from the Crypt Can you fear me now? by Neil Kleid
3. Tales from the Crypt Zombielicious by Mort Todd