The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Lyra and Will are helped by friends old and new as they continue their perilous journey. The great armoured bear Iorek Byrnison reappears, as does Dr Mary Malone, creator of the amber spyglass. Then there are the tiny, dragonfly-riding Gallivespians, and the wheel-borne Mulefa with their ability to see the mysterious substance Dust.
As childhood slips away from them, Lyra and Will face new dangers - including the daemon-destroying Spectres and a journey into the world of the dead. The pair must play their part in the climax of a war for the future of all worlds. From Goodreads.

I have really enjoyed listening to His Dark Materials. I am still not completely taken with audio books but this series where Philip Pullman has read the books and a full cast have read the characters has just been absolutely brilliant. These books must be read in order.

This book qualifies for:
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-zorilla)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 - Finished

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict.

FrifhtFall Read-a-Thon has come to and end and I more than reached my goal. My goal was to finish 4 books and at least one had to be scary.
I have finished 7 books, well maybe only 5+ as I was half way through the audible of The Subtle Knife and How (not) to play with Magic is only 25 pages.
For scary books, both Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray are horror books.
Thank you Michelle for hosting, I will be back for this next year again.

List of books:

1. Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer 
2. Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen 
3. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker 
5. How (Not) to Play With Magic by Elizabeth A. Reeves  
6. How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves  
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 
8. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (started to listen to - not finished)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The portrait which Basil Hallward painted of Dorian Gray revealed the face of an Adonis, and when he saw the finished picture of himself, the beautiful young aesthete exclaimed: 'Why should it keep what I must lose? Every moment that passes takes something from me, and gives something to it. Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be always what I am now!' His perverse aspiration was strangely fulfilled...
[...]
This celebrated fantasy is developed as vividly as one of Edgar Allan Poe's macabre narratives, and the climax is fulfilled in murder and suicide. But although The Picture of Dorian Gray ranks as a tense and full-blooded story, it is distinguished also by the habitual brilliance of Oscar Wilde's witty and epigrammatic style.
The cover shows an engraving by Cecil Keeling. From Goodreads.



I am not sure how much I liked this but it was very interesting. Dorian Gray starts out as an innocent young man but turns to a quite horrible person in the end. There was unfortunately a part in the middle I found boring but I guess the part was necessary to explain the many years that passed.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-muskox)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves

The Final Chapter in the Cindy Eller series.
Cindy's life is split between her responsibilities in her bakery and as the Seraphine of Faerie. It's chaotic, but she's making it work a day at a time.
Then Cindy's father disappears and the last thing she ever wanted to have happen is thrust upon her-- she is going to be made Seraphim. Will Cindy lose everything she has worked so hard for?
And will Faerie survive her attempts to rule? From Goodreads.

I have enjoyed this series by Elizabeth Reeves.
Cindy Eller still loves Timothy but she doesn't trust him. This book is a good ending to the series where there is a lot of betrayal and deceit to overcome but it all end happily ever after. This is an easy fun read and I am going to miss Cindy and her family.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (R-zorilla)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

How (Not) to Play With Magic by Elizabeth A. Reeves

A Cindy Eller Short story.
Cindy Eller is a witch and a baker. She is making a name for herself in the world of desserts with her new and unique flavor profiles.
But juggling her weird family and trying to keep her magic a secret from her roommates is a daily challenge.
And her twin sisters, Starrie and Rainey Skye won't hesitate to bring the trouble right to her door. From Goodreads.

A prequel to the Cindy Eller series. It is a cute very short read that shows how much trouble her dear twin sisters can be. Good to read before start of the series but still okay to read at any time.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Jonathon Harker travels to Transylvania in Eastern Europe to do business with a mysterious man, Count Dracula.
On his way to the count's castle he is warned by many, even provided with crucifixes, and almost attacked by wolves.
To his surprise, upon reaching the castle, Harker is confronted by a professional and gentle man - that is up until he realises he has been made the count's prisoner. While he is under serious threat in the castle, strange things happen elsewhere - a Russian ship is wrecked and a woman is found with bite-marks on her neck.
The great power and ambition of the count manifests itself in deaths and looming evils, causing a group, including the escaped Harker, to hunt Dracula down and kill him.
Dracula is an intense horror flavoured with the perils of seduction, desire and identity. From Goodreads.




I needed to read this for several challenges but I have kept putting it off as I have a problem with classics. This was better than expected and of course it helps it is in my favourite genre of paranormal.
We don't actually see much of Dracula but everything is about what he does, what he can do and how to hunt him.
Dracula is a truly evil vampire and nothing matters to him but his own survival.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 - Update

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict.

I am doing well in my reading and I am sure I will manage my goal of 4 books.

Monday 29th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 51 pages.
Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer - 250 pages (Book finished)
(Monday total pages 301)

Tuesday 30th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 60 pages.
(Tuesday total pages 60)

Wednesday 1st
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 40 pages. (Book finished)
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 23 pages.
Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen - 354 pages (Book finished)
(Wednesday total pages 417)

Thursday 2nd
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 80 pages
(Thursday total pages 138)

Friday 3rd
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 247 pages
(Friday total pages 305)

Saturday 4thThe Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 50 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 93 pages (Book finished)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - 50 pages
(Saturday total pages 193)

Sunday 5th 
How (Not) to Play With Magic by Elizabeth A. Reeves - 25 pages (Book finished)
How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves - 150 pages (Book finished)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - 198 pages (Book finished)
(Sunday total pages 373)

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The thrilling second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, read by the author and a full cast.
In this stunning sequel to Northern Lights, the intrepid Lyra Silvertongue and her daemon, Pantalaimon, find themselves in a shimmering, haunted other world - Cittagazze where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky.
Here she meets twelve-year-old Will Parry, a fugitive from a third universe. Will has found a small window between Cittagazze and Oxford that brings him into this strange new realm.
Will's father, an explorer, disappeared years ago, but recently some odd characters have started asking questions about him, and now, having accidentally killed one of them, Will is wanted by the police.
Armed with the subtle knife, a tool that cuts any material (including that which separates universes) and Lyra's alethiometer, the children set out to find John Parry, with adults of various stripes in desperate pursuit. From Goodreads.

This is really good. This was a re-read (listen) for me but it is so long ago since I read it that it seems new. I am also enjoying this special audio with all the different voices for the characters.
Lyra and Will become friends and have to survive together. Luckily they get help from Lyra's friends. 

This book qualifies for:
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen

A disillusioned heiress swaps her credit cards for a pitchfork and shovel in a desperate attempt to escape her grandfather’s iron-fisted control. However, at the track she must earn the respect of an uncompromising horse trainer who has little tolerance for greenhorns, especially one he’s been forced to hire.
Mark Russell never expected his rookie groom to have the spunk or savvy to last at his demanding race barn. Or that his reluctant respect would turn to desire. But as the forbidden attraction between them sizzles, manipulation and murder threaten not only his horses but also their lives. And suddenly a Breeders’ Cup win is the very least of his worries. From Goodreads.

This was an okay romance but it is their relationship with the horses I like more and I am not even a horse person. Jessica is okay but she is quite manipulative at the same time as she is trying to be independent. Mark doesn't want pretty females working at his stables but is pressured by Jessica's grandfather to do so.
It is a romance so of course it has a happy ending.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014 
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer

All is well in Stella’s world. For the first time in a very long time she feels safe and secure in the knowledge that she’s put the Brotherhood behind her. However, she’s desperately searching for an answer that will set her ex-boyfriend free from a dangerous pact he agreed to in order to protect her, and ensure the survival of the witches. So when her old friend Etoile asks her to run a few secret errands prior to the swearing in of the High Council, Stella cautiously agrees. However finding a dead man on her doorstep, clutching a torn note bearing only her name, doesn't figure into any of her plans. Who is he and what does he want?
With neighbour and old flame Gage in tow, they head north to discover more about the dead man. There they are plunged into a mystery that appears to span every faction of the supernatural world, and more danger than they could possibly imagine. Just what is it that the werewolves, demons, and witches are searching for and how far will they go to gain the ultimate prize?
With the High Council inauguration drawing close, Stella must race against time to save what could be their only hope of peace, draw out the enemies in their midst, and find the answers she is so desperately searching for.  From Goodreads.

Another really good book in the Stella Mayweather series. It all starts nice and cosy but that quickly changes and the book is full of intrigues and secrets. I knew from another reader that this book would end in a cliffhanger, I just didn't realise how big a cliffhanger. I will definitely get the last book in the series as soon as it gets published in December.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
The Challenge Factory - September 2014 Creature ~ Witches!
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014 
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-vulture)
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9
FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 - Goals

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict.

My goal for this week will be to read 4 books and one has to be scary.

As usual I have a list which might change.

List of books:

1. Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Moxyland by Lauren Beukes 
4. True of Blood by Bonnie Lamer 
5. Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen 
6. Victoria Line, Central Line by Maeve Binchy
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
8. Mænd er fra Mars, Kvinder er fra Venus by John Gray

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 - Sign up

FrightFall Read-a-Thon 2014 hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict.

It is that time again, this will be my third time taking part in FrightFall RaT. I try to take part in all of Michelle's RaT's.
I am not sure what I will read yet but I will have a list of books ready for the start. Most likely it will include both Gothic and witches.

I'm so very excited that it's almost officially Fall again (although I always kick off Fall personally on September 1...haha)! The FrightFall Read-a-Thon is only two weeks away! Official dates are September 29 through October 5. I hope you're ready to get your scary on! Guidelines for the read-a-thon can be found HERE or you can access in the tab at the top of the blog. Any information you need about the read-a-thon can be found there. We will have one Twitter chat. I will announce the date and time in the starting post. Please do be sure to check the guidelines, as I've made changes regarding signing up and the starting line. Our Twitter hashtag is #FrightFall. 

Just remember...the one main "rule" of FrightFall is that you must read ONE scary book (which can be a thriller, mystery, Gothic novel, or similar for those who are faint of heart).