Series

Serial Killer Book Series by Brenda Novak

September 11, 2017 by Leah 1 Comment

I’ll admit it, I have a very eclectic taste in books. One minute I will be reading the latest vampire series and the next minute I’m reading about a serial killer. Typically, I tend to gravitate towards thrillers and suspense novels. The first authors I really became interested in were Stephen King and Dean Koontz. While I sometimes need to read that happy ending type book, more times than not, I enjoy reading things that are so far from what my reality is. I really enjoyed this serial killer series by Brenda Novak.

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From Amazon –

THE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER
Evelyn Talbot knows that a psychopath can look perfectly normal. She was only sixteen when her own boyfriend Jasper imprisoned and tortured her—and left her for dead. Now an eminent psychiatrist who specializes in the criminal mind, Evelyn is the force behind Hanover House, a maximum-security facility located in a small Alaskan town. Her job puts her at odds with Sergeant Amarok, who is convinced that Hanover is a threat to his community…even as his attraction to beautiful Evelyn threatens to tear his world apart.
BEGINS WITH AN ESCAPE FROM HER PAST
Then, just as the bitter Alaskan winter cuts both town and prison off from the outside world, the mutilated body of a local woman turns up. For Amarok, this is the final proof he needs: Hanover has to go. Evelyn, though, has reason to fear that the crime is a personal message to her—the first sign that the killer who haunts her dreams has found her again. . .and that the life she has so carefully rebuilt will never be the same…

Why a Serial Killer Novel?

Her Darkest Nightmare (Dr. Evelyn Talbot Novels)

Why not a serial killer novel? I mean, when we choose movies, we don’t go for the same type all the time. The same holds true when I’m picking a book. I think my love for these types of novels started when I was a kid and read The Silence of the Lambs book and then saw the movie. That book and movie was a favorite of mine for years. I even took a few psychology classes in high school and college because of that book and movie! If you are looking for a really good psychological thriller, then you will want to read Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak.

My Thoughts

I literally could not put this book down. Typically, I will read every night before bed and whenever I have to sit at my kids sports practices. I found myself staying up later and later because I could not put this book down. As I was writing this post, I found out that their is actually a novella before Her Darkest Nightmare called Hanover House. That makes sense. Halfway through the book, I had the impression that I was missing something. At first I thought I just missed it while reading, but now I know it’s because there was a book before this one! I definitely recommend this series! The third book comes out on October 3, 2017!

A Shade of a Vampire Series

August 26, 2017 by Leah Leave a Comment

When it comes to vampire stories, I was all about Twilight. I read the books and saw the movies, and I actually liked them. People would suggest other vampire stories to me and they just never really caught my interest. However, a friend of mine suggested I give this vampire series she’s been reading a try, I figured, “what the heck”. I really do like series books (especially the Alex Cross series by James Patterson) and the Shade of a Vampire series did have a lot of books out, which is another thing I really like about series books, so I did what I do anytime I about to read a new book. I went to Amazon to check out the description.

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About A Shade of a Vampire Series

On the evening of Sofia Claremont’s seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to The Shade, an enchanted island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine – an island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is selected out of hundreds of girls to take up residence in the tree-top harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? Or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

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My Thoughts

When I started reading A Shade of a Vampire, I was very skeptical. Like I said, I had already done the whole “sparkly vampire” thing. And, besides the Twilight series, I was not really into reading about vampires. Bella Forrest changed my mind on that very quickly! Almost instantly I was drawn into the character of Sophia and her relationship with Derek Novak. I found myself rooting for them! When the first book ended, I quickly downloaded the second one. And the rest, they say, is history…I’m currently reading book number 48!

A Shade Of Vampire A Shade of Vampire 2: A Shade of Blood A Shade of Vampire 3: A Castle of Sand

Sometimes I find myself drifting off in a book and not paying as close attention as I should be. Not because I’m not interested in the book (though, that is the reason sometimes), but mainly because I have a lot on my mind. When that happens, I often have to go back and reread a passage to see who’s point of view that particular chapter is in. That bugs me. Bella Forrest does it a little differently, and I love what she does. Each chapter starts with a characters name. That entire chapter is in that characters point of view. I really enjoy that style. Especially if a particular scene is told in multiple characters point of view. It allows for you to really delve deeper into the book.

Books in the Series

Like I said above, right now there are currently 48 books out. These 48 books are broken into their own mini series within the bigger series.

Derek and Sophia’s story (series 1, books 1-7)
Rose and Caleb’s story (series 2, books 8-16)
The Shade Continues with a New Hero (series 3, books 17-24)
A Clan of Novaks (series 4, books 25-32)
A Dawn of Guardians (series 5, books 33-41)
A Gift of Three (series 6, books 42+)

If you were to ask me which series out of the six is my favorite, I would say series six. While I like them all, series six has been my favorite. Each series gets better and better.

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Another great thing about this vampire series is that it’s not just about vampires! You have werewolf’s, witches, goblins, and other paranormal creatures! I would recommend this series for adults that love a quick easy read, but also for teens that are looking for a good young adult novel series to start reading.

Definitely check the series out. If you have Kindle Unlimited, the books are free! Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial. So what are you waiting for? Get the free trial of Kindle Unlimited and read a couple A Shade of a Vampire books to see if you like the series!

What is your favorite genre of books to read?

Alex Cross Series by James Patterson

August 20, 2017 by Leah 12 Comments

One of my favorite things to read are series books. I get so invested in the characters that I just want to read more and more with them in it. The Alex Cross series by James Patterson is the first series I remember reading. I read my first one about 20 years years ago and I was hooked from the start. Not only did James Patterson immediately become my favorite author, but Alex Cross became my favorite character.

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If you aren’t familiar with James Patterson, then you need to stop what you are doing and pick up one of his books right now. If you like series books like I do, then you will want to give the Alex Cross books a try. The first book in the series is Along Came A Spider. And yes…it was eventually made into a movie that, if you haven’t seen it yet, you need to (after you read the book, of course)!

Along Came A Spider Along Came a Spider

About Alex Cross and Along Came a Spider

Alex Cross is a homicide detective with the D.C. police department. Having a degree in psychology, with a special concentration in abnormal psychology and forensic psychology, Alex Cross is able to get into the minds of the criminals he’s after.

Life changes for Deputy Chief of Detectives Alex Cross when he is drawn into a high-profile case. Two nine-year-old children are kidnapped by a teacher, Gary Soneji, from the prestigious Washington Day School. Maggie Rose Dunne is the daughter of an actress, and Michael “Shrimpie” Goldberg is the son of the Secretary of Treasury. A ransom of $10 million is demanded.

Just from the blurb on the back of Along Came a Spider, I was hooked. Little did I know, I would also become hooked on the character of Alex Cross and begin 20 years of reading the Alex Cross series (newest one comes out in November). James Patterson does an excellent job with character development. You really get to know all of the characters in each of his books. I truly believe that his strong point, as an author, is his various series he has on the market. With strong character development, you become invested in the characters as if you truly knew them and you want to read more with them!

With close to 25 books in the series already out, you will have plenty of books to keep you busy! My favorite way to start a new series is when there are several books already out! For a complete list of the books in this series and the order you should read them in, visit the official James Patterson website.