Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They’d love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

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This weeks Top Ten topic is …

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I’ve Read

Here they are in no particular order…

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan*

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman*

Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Black Heart by Holly Black

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Debutantes by Cora Harrison

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

What are your top ten favourite book covers of books you’ve read? Let me know in the comments below, or link back to your Top Ten post so I can see what makes your list.

* These are US covers, so the books I read didn’t have them BUT I think they look awesome.

So this is my final post for Bout of Books 7.0, and honestly I’m kinda sad that it is all over. I had a great time, and it really helped me to get back on track with my reviews and escape my “reading-slump-of-doom” which I couldn’t seem to outrun for long.

I guess you want to know how it went, if you haven’t been keeping up to date with my updates post. I was waaaay too lazy to do a post a day – it would eat into my reading time!

Time Devoted to Reading ended up being quite a lot. I’m not sure of the exact hours, I didn’t keep track, but I think I managed to read for about 6 hours a day. I’m very pleased with this because I was also the only one cooking that week as Mum has an essay due asap, and I had to do some cleaning around the house and that so there wasn’t too much to do on Sunday when the family came over.

My Goals were admittedly easy, but I completed reading 4 books by Thursday and in fact I ended up reading 6 books this week which I am super proud of. I would have loved to have read seven, but Sunday was a lost cause reading wise. I also aimed to take part in one Twitter Chat and I ended up taking part in two of the three Twitter Chats – the first and the last, unfortunately the second one took place at 2am and I needed to sleep!

The Books I Read are as follows:

With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Debutantes by Cora Harrison

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Will I take part in another Bout of Books? Yes. It was soooo much fun! I am seriously contemplating taking part in Bout of Books 8.0 in August, but we’ll see how things are closer to the time. If you are interested in taking part in a future Bout of Books, or just want to find out more then you can find the Bout of Books blog here.

Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh (UK cover)

Title: Archangel’s Storm (A Guild Hunter Novel, 5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (13th September 2012)
Source: Local Library
Blurb:

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price – Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmate . . . and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion tht threatens to drench them both in blood.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Archangel’s Storm is the fifth book in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. The story focuses on Jason, one of the Archangel Raphael’s Seven. Singh introduces us to Princess Mahiya, who has ties to the Archangel Neha and who lives at her court. Singh also continues Dmitri and Honor’s story from Archangel’s Blade through occasional chapters.

I found it really interesting to learn more about Jason. Singh has deliberately kept him as a mystery, and she unravels him a bit in this book. I liked the fact that although we learn more about Jason, he still remains an enigma at the end of the book – that although he changes through the book, he still remains fundamentally the same character. I also thought that Princess Mahiya was an interesting character, especially because of her past and her time at Neha’s court. Singh did a good job showing that a strong female character doesn’t have to be a warrior, as all the other strong female leads in the series have been so far.

Of course romance plays a large part of the plot of Archangel’s Storm and Singh does her usual brilliant job of bringing the characters together. What I most enjoyed about the plot of this book though was the mystery – who killed Archangel Neha’s consort and why? As Singh has shown in previous books attracting the attention of an archangel is not something you really want to do, so I was curious about the killers motivation in this book. I think Singh did the mystery aspect of the plot well. The final reveal was brilliantly handled.

One of the things that I had trouble with in this book, the main thing actually, was that I wondered what it added to the Guild Hunter series. It is a good paranormal romance, and a great mystery. It is enjoyable to read. But, I don’t think it really adds anything to the Guild Hunter Novels. We don’t really learn more about what is going on with the archangels and the angels in this book, and I was to be honest disappointed especially as Jason is Raphael’s spymaster.

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• 3 star review of Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison
• Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books Dealing with Tough Subjects
• 3 star review of Lord’s Fall by Thea Harrison
• Updates on my progress with Bout of Books 7.0

What’s happening on The Flutterby Room next week?

• 20th May – Bout of books wrap-up
• 20th May – review Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh
• 24th May – review Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Any new books?

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits, and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders each week.

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Just one book for me this week.

• Loki’s Wolves (The Blackwell Pages #1) by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr [Goodreads]

Thank you Dad for getting this for me, I’ve been looking forward to reading it for a while.

That’s it from me this week. Hopefully there will be more than two posts on The Flutterby Room this week, but I’m not willing to make promises I might not keep. Let me know in the comments what you got this week and what happened on your blog and I will try to reply.

See you next week.

Lord’s Fall by Thea Harrison

Title: Lord’s Fall (A Novel of the Elder Races, 5)
Author: Thea Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (6th November 2012)
Blurb:

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, two mates find themselves on different paths, torn between their duty to the Wyr and the passion that binds them . . .

Before she met Dragos, half-human/half-wyr Pia Giovanni was alone and on the run. Now she’s mated, pregnant and heading south to repair the Wyr’s frayed relationship with the Elves. Being separated from Dragos is painful, but for the good of the Wyr demesne they need to figure out how to be partners – in more places than just the bedroom.

In New York to preside over the Sentinel Games, Dragos is worried about his mate, but knows that finding two replacement sentinels is essential to show the rest of the Elder Races just how strong and brutal the Wyr demesne can be. But as the games heat up, Pia’s negotiations with the Elves take a turn for the dangerous, straining her bond with Dragos and threatening everything they hold dear . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Lord’s Fall is the fifth book in the Novel of the Elder Races series and it takes place six months after the events in the preceding four novels, and features many of the characters that appear in them. Having lost two of his seven sentinels Dragos is forced to replace them not only to keep the Wyr demesne functioning but also to prove to those watching that he is still a force to be reckoned with. Pia takes the opportunity of the Sentinel Games to try to fix the trouble she and Dragos caused with the Elves in Dragon Bound. Like Dragon Bound, Storm’s Heart, Serpent’s Kiss, and Oracle’s Moon, Lord’s Fall is very definitely a book – and a series – which is aimed at an adult audience.

One of the things that I most like about this book is that we get to be reunited with Dragos and Pia from Dragon Bound and we get to see how they, and their relationship, has progressed. I really liked  being reunited with the characters, though it felt a bit like nothing had really changed between the end of Dragon Bound and the beginning of Lord’s Fall except for the fact that Pia is further along in her pregnancy. The relationship between Dragos and Pia appears to have been pretty much left in limbo since we last saw them, which I have to admit I was a little disappointed about – they are still trying to work out what it means to be partners, and in six months I would have thought that they would have made some progress.

One of the main plot threads of Lord’s Fall focuses on Dragos and Pia learning to be a team, even when that means they have to work apart – which neither likes doing. The Elves definitely play a LARGE role in this book, and I found it really interesting to learn a bit more about them – I hope that Harrison chooses to have an elf as a main character in a future book in this series. I also liked the way that Harrison uses the prophecy Dragos hears in Oracle’s Moon as another of the plot threads in this book. It certainly revealed a lot about Dragos, which I thought was really interesting. The Wyr also play a huge part in this book, and I found it really interesting to watch the Sentinel Games. The Wyr demesne is very definitely warrior orientated and quite brutal.

Lord’s Fall acts as a cohesive element and draws the four previous books in the Novel of the Elder Races together into an overall story arc, which I think really worked. As such I really enjoyed its addition to the series.  If you are looking for a good paranormal romance which covers a broad range of paranormal species then you should definitely consider adding the Novel of the Elder Races to your reading list. If you’ve read the previous books in the series you won’t be disappointed with this one.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They’d love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

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This weeks Top Ten topic is …

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

I had more books that could have gone on this list than I thought I did. The ten listed below are in no particular order.

Vicky Angel by Jacqueline Wilson (MG) [Goodreads]

I think it’s a really beautifully told story about grief, and what it can mean.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (MG) [Goodreads]

I first read this book when I was about fourteen for my English class. It is a beautiful, heartbreaking story.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks [Goodreads]

Everytime I read this book I cry. I think because a certain topic hits a little too close to home. I saw the film before I read the book, and whilst I love the film I prefer the story as told in the book.

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen (NA) [Goodreads]

Although this book’s tough subject isn’t dealt with per se, it does form the impetus behind the plot so I think it counts. I think it also shows how our coping strategies can effect others.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewel (MG) [Goodreads]

This was one of my favourite books when I was younger, and it was so sad. Beauty seemed so real, and some of the stuff that happens to him is awful!

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult [Goodreads]

Every time I read it, this story breaks my heart a little. The choices some of the characters face in this book are really difficult ones. And I think Anna is definitley the bravest character in this book.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (YA) [Goodreads]

The tough subject doesn’t take centre stage in this book, but it does play a huge part in terms of the plot of this book. I think McGarry does a brilliant job showing how people can react to certain events and how this can effect them.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington (YA) [Goodreads]

Harrington does a good job in this book in showing how we see someone might not necessarily be how they are. She also shows how June’s suicide has a HUGE effect on her friends and family.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green (YA) [Goodreads]

How could I do this list and not include this?!

A beautiful tale about life and loss. For me, Green manages to hit just the right note.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (YA) [Goodreads]

Doller does a brilliant job showing a modern soldier trying to fit back into his life pre-war. Normally when wars are covered we just see the war, not the aftermath so I thought Doller was quite brave choosing to set the story in the US. I think she did a good job at showing how Travis struggled to fit back into the civillian world.

What are your top ten books dealing with tough subjects? Let me know in the comments below, or link back to your Top Ten post so I can see what makes your list.

Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison

Title: Oracle’s Moon (A Novel of the Elder Races, 4)
Author: Thea Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (2nd August 2012)
Blurb:

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, an untested young woman must claim her place as the Oracle – and contend with a powerful Djinn who has decided to become part of her life . . .

As a second daughter, Grace Andreas never had to worry about the intrigues of the Elder Races. But when her sister, Petra, and her husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as he sister’s two young children – neither of which she’s prepared for.

Yet, she’s not alone. Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn Prince of House Marid – driven by his genuine caring for the children – has decided to make himself a part of the household, both as their guardian and as an exasperating counterpoint to Grace’s impudence towards the Elder Races. But when an attempt is made on Grace’s life, she realises that Khalil is the only one who can protect her – and offer her more than any mortal man . . .

Rating: *** (3 star)
Review:

Oracle’s Moon is the fourth book in the Novel of the Elder Race series, although it is not a direct sequel of Dragon Bound, Storm’s Heart or Serpent’s Kiss. Instead Oracle’s Moon takes characters from Storm’s Heart and Serpent’s Kiss and places them on centre stage. Khalil makes an appearance in both Storm’s Heart and Serpent’s Kiss, whilst Grace appears for the first time in Serpent’s Kiss. I think both Khalil and Grace are an interesting choice on Harrison’s part as neither is really fleshed out until their appearance in this book. Like Dragon Bound, Storm’s Heart, and Serpent’s Kiss, Oracle’s Moon is very definitely a book – and a series – which is aimed at an adult audience.

As I have mentioned, Oracle’s Moon is not a direct sequel to any of the preceding books in the Novel of the Elder Races series. I would, however, recommend that you read the series in order as you will otherwise risk spoiling yourself and missing out on little bits of background information.

Until his appearance in Oracle’s Moon we know very little about Khalil. We know he is a powerful Djinn and that he owed Carling three favours – though by the time of Oracle’s Moon those favours are no longer owed. Apart from that Khalil is very much a mystery, so I really enjoyed the way that Harrison slowly revealed the complexity of this character. I also really like the way that Harrison handled the fact that he was a Djinn. Grace too was very much a mystery going into this book. We learn in Serpent’s Kiss that she is an Oracle and she looks after two young children, but that’s all we know. I really admired Grace and her strength in this book.

The major plot of Oracle’s Moon focuses on the relationship between Grace and Khalil, and to be honest that kind of disappointed me. There was a mystery/who-done-it subplot, but it didn’t really come to play until quite late on into the book. Still, watching Grace and Khalil dance around each other was fun. And I liked the way that this book ties everything together in the series so far, and hints at things to come in future books. It is definitely a good addition to the Novel of the Elder Races series.

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• 3 star review of Storm’s Heart by Thea Harrison
• Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun
• Bout of Books 7.0 – Goals & Updates
• Guest Post: Quick Fire Questions with Gemma Green
• 4 star review of Serpent’s Kiss by Thea Harrison

What’s happening on The Flutterby Room next week?

• 13th May – review of Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison
• 17th May – review of Lord’s Fall by Thea Harrison
• 13th to 19th May I am participating in Bout of Books 7.0. You can find out how I’m doing each day here.

Other news?

A final reminder;

Rachel Caine is signing copies of the latest Morganville Vampires book Fall of Night on FRIDAY 17th MAY at 2pm at Waterstones Highcross Centre Leicester. According to the staff she will only be signing for an hour, so if you live nearby you might want to get there in plenty of time.

Any new books?

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits, and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders each week.

This week my TBR pile multiplied. Oops!

• Mercy Burns (Myth and Magic #2) by Keri Arthur [Goodreads]
• Destiny Kills (Myth and Magic #1) by Keri Arthur [Goodreads]
• Nightshade (Nightshade #1) by Andrea Cremer [Goodreads]
• A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark #2) by Kresley Cole [Goodreads]
• Dead Ever After (Southern Vampire Mysteries #13) by Charlaine Harris [Goodreads]
• Doll Bones by Holly Black [Goodreads]
• The Bell Between Worlds (The Mirror Chronicles #1) by Ian Johnstone (ARC) [Goodreads]

First I would like to say a HUGE thank you to  HarperCollinsChildren’s UK who asked a while back on Twitter if anyone would be interested in getting a spare copy of The Mirror Chronicles. I didn’t think I would be one of the lucky ones, but I am really pleased to get hold of this book early. Secondly I would like to say thank you to my Mum who got me both Dead Ever After and Doll Bones.

That’s it from me this week. Hopefully there will be more than two posts on The Flutterby Room this week, but I’m not willing to make promises I might not keep. Let me know in the comments what you got this week and what happened on your blog and I will try to reply.

See you next week.

Serpent’s Kiss by Thea Harrison

Title: Serpent’s Kiss (A Novel of the Elder Races, 3)
Author: Thea Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (5th July 2012)
Blurb:

In the lastest Novel of the Elder Races, a queen on the brink of sanity has no one to rely on except the Wyr warrior whose conviction is every bit as strong as his passion . . .

In order to save his friend’s life, Wyr sentinel Rune Ainissesthai made a bargain with vampire Queen Carling – without knowing what she would ask from him in return. But when Rune attempts to make good on his debt, he finds a woman on the edge.

Recently, Carling’s power has become erratic, forcing her followers to flee in fear. Despite the danger, Rune is drawn to the ailing queen and decides to help her find the cure for the serpent’s kiss – the vampyric disease that’s killing her. With their desire for each other escalating just as quickly as Carling’s instability spirals out of control, the sentinel and the queen will have to rely on each other if they have any hope of surviving the serpent’s kiss . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Serpent’s Kiss is the third book in the Novel of The Elder Races series, although it is not a direct sequel to either Dragon Bound or Storm’s Heart. Instead Serpent’s Kiss takes characters from both books and draws them on to the centre stage. We see Rune in both Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart, though Carling doesn’t appear until Storm’s Heart. It is interesting to see both Rune and Carling step forward and become the protagonists in Serpent’s Kiss, and to read Harrison fleshing the characters out. Like Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart, Serpent’s Kiss is very definitely a book – and a series – which is aimed at an adult audience.

Although, like Storm’s Heart, Serpent’s Kiss is not a direct sequel to either of the preceding books in the Novel of the Elder Races series – in that it has two new protagonists – I would recommend that you go back and read both Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart so you can get a fuller appreciation of the characters and series. You could, of course, dive straight into Serpent’s Kiss but you would miss some background information if you did.

Since his appearance in Dragon Bound I have thought that Rune is an interesting character – he’s Dragos’s First sentinel and his friend, so when I discovered he was one of the main characters in Serpent’s Kiss my interest was piqued. Since her appearance in Storm’s Heart Carling has been a bit of a mystery too. She was a vampire Queen who gave up her throne to rule on the Elder Council. So going into Serpent’s Kiss I was hoping to find out more about these interesting characters, and I was not disappointed.

The plot of Serpent’s Kiss is really interesting, and unique in the Novel of the Elder Races series so far. Although one of the major subplots of the novel is of course the relationship between Rune and Carling, I found the idea that Carling is suffering from a vampyric disease that’s killing her and she and Rune need to find a cure the most interesting aspect of the novel. Harrison did a really good job in illustrating Carling’s decline and her disease – which has some really neat aspects – and the origins of vampires in her novel – which was also really interesting. I also really enjoyed the conclusion of the book.

If you are a fan of paranormal romance and like you characters with a bit of a twist and brains, then you really should check out Thea Harrison’s Novel of the Elder Races series. Serpent’s Kiss is a brilliant addition to the series and I look forward to reading book four.

Today, we get to throw a few quick fire questions at Gemma Green. Gemma is an Averter and usually doesn’t grant interviews (because she’s so busy trying to alter people’s minds) but she’s agreed to spare a few words.

1. Edward or Jacob?

Who?

2. Dog or cat?

I’ve never owned either because we keep moving so much, but I think I’d be more of a cat person. They’re supposed to be less fussy, right?

3. Takeaway or home-cooked meal?

Dad makes a great steak and kidney pie and I’d settle for that any day. Besides, we don’t really like having people come over to our house.

4. Ice cream or cookies?

Mashed up peanut butter cookies in caramel swirl ice cream, mmmmmm.

5. Ninjas or pirates?

Ninjas. What’s so great about tattooed men with loop earrings, eye makeup and big hats?

A HUGE thank you to both Kenechi Udogu and Gemma Green for stopping by. If you would like to find out more about Gemma then you should check out Aversion (The Mentalist Series #1) by Kenechi Udogu which you can find on Amazon.co.uk

Aversion by Kenechi Udogu

Aversion (The Mentalist Series #1)
by Kenechi Udogu

For Gemma Green’s first time, things should have been straightforward. Find your subject, hold their gaze and push a thought into their head to save them from future disaster – Aversion complete. A pretty simple process given that the subject was to have no recollection of the experience. But Russ Tanner doesn’t seem to want to forget. In fact the more she tries to avoid him, the more he pushes to get to know her. Gemma knows she has a problem but is she facing the side effects of a failed Aversion or has the school’s tennis champ really fallen for her?

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You can find Kenechi Udogu on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and her blog.