What I've Been Reading (Feb 2. - Feb. 8)

Another week, another batch of great books!  Let's see what I enjoyed this first full week of February...

I read two novellas from the Must Love Hellhounds anthology and enjoyed them both quite a bit.  First, I read Angels' Judgment by Nalini Singh.  My understanding is that this book takes place (at least chronologically) first in Nalini's Guild Hunters series.  Having had these books on my to-be-read pile for a long while and being blown away by Angels' Blood, I really wanted to go back to read this series opener.  And, boy am I glad I did!  Sara has been pegged to take the director's position in the Guild--this leaves her in a precarious position as the angels want to make sure she is strong enough to handle such a post and are not above setting her up to see her performance.  Adding to her stress is a hunter who is killing vampires leaving the Guild open to all kinds of problems, not the least of which would be a breach of trust with the angels.  Fortunately, Deacon steps in to help.  Sara is a strong woman (any person being considered to as the director of the Guild would have to be strong) who really loves her friends--she is super loyal!  This makes the idea that a hunter is killing the vampires they are charged to collect using non-lethal force hard for her to swallow.  Deacon, who is a loner due to the nature of his job, is sent to protect Sara from any "tests" the angels might use to judge Sara's ability to handle the guild.  This puts him in the perfect position to help her hunt the rogue hunter--something Deacon has a lot of experience with.  This novella was tightly plotted and fast-paced...I really enjoyed it.  A lot.

I then read Blind Spot by Meljean Brook.  In this book, Maggie is a butler (at least in name, although it seemed that her duties extended beyond those of a normal butler) to a vampire whose niece has been kidnapped.  Maggie finds Geoff (who seemed to be in some type of trouble himself) and allows him to work with her to track down the missing girl (who also happens to be Geoff's sister).  Geoff is blind but has a cool "power" that helps even things out.  And this story featured Sir Pup, an amazing hellhound who stole the show.  I enjoyed this book quite a bit...enough to try reading Demon Angel again.  And I DNF'd it, again.  I'll try book 2 Demon Moon and see if I like it more.  

After Must Love Hellhounds, I read Kiss of Crimson (review here) which I mistakenly believed was the first book in the Midnight Breeds series.  It is actually the second...by the time I figured that out I was sucked into the story so decided to let it go.  That is a pretty strong recommendation for Kiss of Crimson as I DO NOT like to read series out of order but this time I had to make an exception.  After I finished this book, I immediately went on-line and put books 1 and 3 on hold.  Book 3, Midnight Awakening, came in first so I went ahead and read it...after all, my series rule had already been broken so why not?  I liked it quite a bit, but there was a little to much wishy-washy back and forth on the part of the male lead.  A review will be coming soon.

I laughed my way through Touched by an Alien  by Gini Koch (review coming).  I absolutely loved this book and have thought about it off and on all week.  This book was followed by the very enjoyable Firelight by Kristin Callihan (review coming soon).  

Lastly, I started the In Death series by J.D. Robb.  This is a very big deal...I have been wanting to read these books forever but worried that they would not live up to the ideal I had built up in my head.  Oh foolish am I!  The first two books are fabulous and easily reached and then surpassed my expectations.  Reviews coming.

I am really looking forward to reading more In Death books and continuing with the Midnight Breed series.  I also would like to read the next book in the Guild Hunter series.  We'll see what the upcoming week brings me.