A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Title: A Dance with Dragons (Song of Fire and Ice #5)

Author: George R.R. Martin

Publisher: Bantam 2011

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 1152

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NPR Scifi/Fan); Read My Own Damn Books; 52 Books - W14

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again--beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times three thousand enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
To the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone--a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all. . . .

It took me almost two weeks, but I finally finished the last book that's been published in A Song of Ice and Fire. And it was amazing! I was concerned at first because the beginning moved fairly slowly. Once I fully dove in, I was hooked. I loved catching up with Dany and Jon and Tyrion. They were always my favorite characters in the series. Plus we get to see more story from Aria and Davos and some other great characters. Martin has a way with crafting a compelling storyline and characters. I couldn't even predict what was going to happen in the story and that's why I loved it. Martin surprised me at every turn. And that ending was one hell of a cliffhanger. I cannot wait until The Winds of Winter.

A Song of Fire and Ice:

#1 A Game of Thrones
#2 A Clash of Kings
#3 A Storm of Swords
#4 A Feast for Crows
#5 A Dance with Dragons
#6 The Winds of Winter

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Title: A Feast for Crows (Song of Fire and Ice #4)

Author: George R.R. Martin

Publisher: Bantam Books 2005

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Pages: 1060

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge;Fantasy Project; NPR Scifi and Fantasy; Mount TBR; 52 Books - W52; Well-Rounded Reader; Chunkster

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears. . . . With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.
But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

Another nail-bitting volume from A Song of Ice and Fire. I couldn't wait to see what to all the characters after the events of the third book. Unfortunately we only get half the story in this volume. Martin left the other characters to the fifth book. So no Jon Snow or Dany or Tyrion, but we do get some great stories centering on Brienne, Jamie, Cersi, Alayne, and my favorite story: Arianne Martell. I really loved getting stories from Dorne. We've heard about them for awhile, but only had contact with Oberyn. I loved meeting the Sand Snakes and the Prince of Dorne. My second favorite storyline involved Alayne in the Vale. I'm intrigued as to where that story is going. Overall a long, but very enjoyable read.

A Song of Ice and Fire:

#1 A Game of Thrones
#2 A Clash of Kings
#3 A Storm of Swords
#4 A Feast for Crows
#5 A Dance with Dragons
#6 The Winds of Winter

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Simon Pulse 2007

Genre: YA

Pages: 485

Rating: 4/5 stars Movie: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Book to Movie; 100 YA; NPR Teen; Fantasy Project

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

I enjoyed this volume way more than most of the YA paranormal books I've read in the past. It wasn't amazing, but at least I was entertained. I guessed most of the twists in the book, but they weren't completely obvious. The characters were interesting. The storyline kept my attention. I want to know more about the world of the Shadowhunters. I have the second and third volumes in the series. I will definitely be reading them soon.

Movie

First starting to watch the movie, I thought "oh okay, it's the same." But I was mistaken. As the movie continues, more and more things are changed. There are some direct quotes here and there and mostly the characters are the same. However, there are many changes to Valentine and the entire ending is different. I can't quite decide if I like the changes or not. I think that if I saw the movie without reading the book, I would have liked the movie just fine. As I read the book, I had to change my perspective. They didn't turn the book directly into a movie. They used the book as a starting off point. Becuase it isn't a bad movie by itself, I still rated it 4 stars.

Mortal Instruments (DNFed series)

#1 City of Bones
#2 City of Ashes
#3 City of Glass
#4 City of Fallen Angels
#5 City of Lost Souls
#6 City of Heavenly Fire

The Mistress by Susan Wiggs

Title: The Mistress (Chicago Fire #2)

Author: Susan Wiggs

Publisher: Mira 2010

Genre: Historical romance

Pages: 395

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Genre - Romance; Mount TBR; Seriously Series; 52 Books - W23

How I Got It: I own it!

Most days Kathleen O'Leary is a penniless maid. But tonight she takes a risk and masquerades as a glamorous heiress, thanks to a borrowed gown and her friends' sense of adventure. To her surprise, the ruse succeeds—even Dylan Kennedy, Chicago's most eligible bachelor, seems enraptured.
But like Kathleen, Dylan isn't who he says he is. And before their true identities can be revealed to one another, fire erupts, sending rich and poor alike running for their lives. Now, though virtually strangers, Kathleen and Dylan must rely on each other for survival. And when the embers cool, they'll find that the greatest risk has been to their hearts….

I thought I would enjoy this book. But it seems that I just couldn't get behind the characters at all. Dylan was just so abrasive up until the very last page. And Kathleen was just way too naive especially for someone who was around the upper crust all the time. I didn't like how quickly she stooped to his level of honesty or her complete disregard for honor (even though she yelled about it the entire book). I'm sad to say it just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm going to finish the series hoping that the last book about Lucy has some better characters.

Chicago Fire:

The Hostage
The Mistress
The Firebrand

Chill Factor by Rachel Caine

Title: Chill Factor (Weather Wardens #3)

Author: Rachel Caine

Publisher: Roc 2005

Genre: Paranormal action adventure

Pages: 352

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Sub Genre -- Thriller, Supernatural; Monthly Reads January -- Cold; Mount TBR; Seriously Series; Book Bingo 4 from series

How I Got It: I own it

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has protected the human race from monster storms, been killed, reborn as a Djinn, and then restored to her original form. Now she's throwing the dice to stop an infinitely powerful, deeply disturbed kid-who is holed up in a Vegas hotel-from bringing on a new ice age.

I was with the storyline in Ill Wind, I stayed with it through Heat Stroke. But Chill Factor has certainly thrown the curve balls in. I was on the edge of my seat the entire ride, and I do mean ride. The action picks up right where it left off in the previous book and doesn't stop for 352. Even on the last page, we're left with a cliffhanger. I'm sure the next book will start right there. It's a gripping ride through Joanne's ups and downs. I am excited to see where the character goes next. With the big news, I'm sure it's going to be interesting.

Weather Warden:

Ill Wind
Heat Stroke
Chill Factor
Windfall
Fire Storm
Thin Air
Gale Force
Cape Storm
Total Eclipse

2013 Seriously Series Reading Challenge

From On a Book Bender:

How serious about series are you? We'll find out in 2013.
In the summer of 2012, Amanda and I hosted an informal challenge that focused on completing books in series that we owned. It was enough of a success that we decided we wanted to turn it into a year-long challenge--with a few minor changes. To start with, we have expanded on our original challenge by including both ongoing series and adding new-to-us series, as well as an option for series rereads for those that are VERY serious about their series (or for those that just like to go back and reread old favorites).

Definitions
For this challenge, we define a series as a collection of two or more books that belong together and where the second book is published before the end of 2013. This is a pretty broad definition of series, and it includes traditional series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, less traditional series like Stephanie Perkins's YA contemps (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door), and shorter series, like Kendare Blake's Anna series (Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares).

A series is considered complete in one of two ways: either as finishing all the books that you own in the series or as obtaining and reading all the books that have been published in the series to date. Because we don't want this challenge to become a financial burden, how you choose to define completion is left to your discretion.

How It Works
To allow for the greatest level of flexibility, we've separated series into three categories: series started before 2013, series started in 2013, and series rereads. Series started before 2013 are defined as series that you have started reading before Jan. 2013 and that you still have unread books to get current in (or finish) the series. Series started in 2013 are defined as any series that you start reading between Jan. and Dec. 2013, and the second book in the series must be published before December 2013. A series reread is defined as books that are part of a series that were read before Jan. 2013 and that are reread between Jan. 2013 and Dec. 2013. A series reread does NOT have to include the full series.

For each category, there are different levels of seriousness about series that you can choose. Semi-serious is reading 1 to 6 series, seriously serious is reading 7 to 12 series, super seriously serious is reading 13 to 18 series, and seriously spectacular series star is reading more than 18 series. What this ends up looking like is this:

series started before 2013series started in 2013series rereads

Semi-Serious1-6 series1-61-6

Seriously Serious7-127-127-12

Super Seriously Serious13-1813-1813-18

Seriously Spectacular Series Star18+18+18+
You choose which categories you want to attempt and which level to shoot for. Reading novellas and short storiesfrom a series does count here.

Goals and Progress
Want to sign up? Create a post or page about this challenge, what goals you would like to accomplish (mine is here, as an example), and then link up your post here at Reading the Paranormal. I will be hosting all of the linkies for this challenge. In addition to the sign up, every three months, we will post a check-in, where you can report your progress and reassess your original goals.
That schedule will look like the following:

April 1st: January--March
July 1st: April--June
October 1st: July--September
January 1st, 2014: October--December

I'm going for the semi-serious level of 1-6 series for series started in 2012 and seriously serious level of 7-12 for series started in 2013. I try to keep my series in progress to a minimum at any given time. Therefore, I don't have a ton of qualifying books, but there are few. I imagine that I will be starting some more series during 2013. Tentative TBR list:

Already started

Neil Gaiman's Sandman series
Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series
Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood series

Starting

Weather Wardens
Locke and Key
Victoria Gardella
Matched
Chicago Fire
???

Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine

Title: Heat Stroke (Weather Wardens #2)

Author: Rachel Caine

Publisher: Roc 2004

Genre: Paranormal Action Adeventure

Pages: 352

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Sub-Genre -- Thriller, Action; Mount TBR; Seriously Series; Dusty Bookshelf; Book Bingo -- 4 from series

How I Got It: I own it

Mistaken for a murderer, Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is hunted down and killed by her colleagues. Reborn as a Djinn, she senses something sinister entering earth's atmosphere-something that makes tomorrow's forecast look deadly.

Second volume of Joanne Baldwin's journey and I'm still hooked. Making Joanne a Djinn was a gamble and a hell of an entertaining one. I loved seeing her attempt to master the Djinn powers, and yet retain her human fierceness. It was also a treat to see how she would deal without David to lead her along. I love her independent spirit. And the introduction of a few new characters (Yvette, Kevin, Jonathon) was a nice touch. They kept the series from falling into predictable. On to the next one...

Weather Warden:

Ill Wind
Heat Stroke
Chill Factor
Windfall
Fire Storm
Thin Air
Gale Force
Cape Storm
Total Eclipse

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

Title: Ill Wind (Weather Wardens #1)

Author: Rachel Caine

Publisher: Roc 2003

Genre: Paranormal action adventure

Pages: 352

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC -- First in series; Paranormal -- Other; Women Authors; Mount TBR; Seriously Series

How I Got It: I own it

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now, she's trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So, she's resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life...
Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful warden known. Unfortunately, he's stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn-making him the most wanted man on earth. Still, she's racing hard to find him-before the bad weather closes in fast...

This series has been sitting on my shelf for at least two years. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. Ill Wind was a great introduction to Joanne and the world of the Weather Wardens. Right away, I knew I would like Joanne's no nonsense outlook and fierce determination. It was refreshing from the damsels in distress women I have read in the past few months. I needed a fierce warrior. Sure she has her vulnerable side, but that's only shown to people she thinks she can trust. (Of course, that doesn't always work out so well). And the world of the Djinns and Weather Warden is just too fun. I love the idea of people helping to control Mother Nature from wiping out us humans. It's a great idea. The side characters are all great, but I especially loved David. I thought something was odd the minute he popped into her life. I didn't realize how odd until much later. I can't wait to read more in the next volume.

Weather Warden:

Ill Wind
Heat Stroke
Chill Factor
Windfall
Fire Storm
Thin Air
Gale Force
Cape Storm
Total Eclipse

Locke and Key Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Title: Locke and Key Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom

Author: Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Publisher: IDW 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 152

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; Mount TBR; Seriously Series; T4MC -- Cult Classic (20 points); Book Bingo -- 2 from series

Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key unwinds into its fourth volume in Keys to the Kingdom! With more keys making themselves known, and the depths of the Locke's family's mystery ever-expanding, Dodge's desperation to end his shadowy quest drives the habitants of Keyhouse evercloser to a revealing conclusion.

I had a few issues with this volume. Overall, I am still in love with this series. I love the illustrations. I love the characters. I love the general storyline. My issues came with the pacing of the story and the style. There are many jump cuts in this volume. We get snippets of the action as instead of a complete follow through. The entire first chapter, I was a bit confused by the new style. And we get a ton of new keys with not much explanation of what they do. I would have liked a little less stuffed into this one volume. I like the slower pacing of the first three volumes. Even with my issues, I still love this story and can't wait to read the conclusion. But I'll have to until April since I don't have the next volume... Darn!

Locke and Key:

Welcome to Lovecraft
Head Games
Crown of Shadows
Keys to the Kingdom
Clockworks
Alpha and Omega