Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet Reading Challenge - Finished

Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet Reading Challenge hosted by  Nothing but Reading Challenges on Goodreads..

Inspired by Denea who wanted to read a Meerkat instead of a Rabbit in the 'What Animal Are You? Reading Challenge'. This is a Spell It Out challenge. Pick an animal for each letter of the alphabet and read books with titles, character (first or last name), or authors (first or last name) that begin with letters tha correspond to letter of the animal you choose. As always, if a title starts with a, an, the, etc you may use the second word of the title. Let me know if we should add any animals.

The duration of this challenge is 1 year (or should I make it 2 years). Have fun.

I had set my self the goal to complete this challenge in 2 years. Instead I have managed to finish it in less than a year. I think that is really well done.

My Goodreads post HERE and HERE.

These are my animals:

✔ Auk
A: Aurora Sky by Nikki Jefford
U: Heartbroken by Lisa Unger
K: Saltwater Witch by Chris Howard (Kassandra is main character)

✔ Badger
B: Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
A: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong
D: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
G: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison
E: Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison
R: Steel and Other Stories by Richard Matheson

✔ Coyote
C: Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson
O: One Sweet Moment by Maggie Craig
Y: Drip Drop Teardrop by Samantha Young
O: The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
T: Two Weeks with a SEAL by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt
E: Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh (Elena is main character)

✔ Dragonfly
D: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Don is main character)
R: For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison (Rachel is main character)
A: An Apple for the Creature edited by Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner
G: Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
O: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
N: Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh
F: Forever Fae by L.P. Dover
L: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs  (Lily is main character)
Y: Your Guardian Angel by Skyla Madi

✔ Eagle
E: WitchHunt by Emma Mills
A: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews
G: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
L: Death on the Aegean Queen By Maria Hudgins (Dotsy Lamb is main character)
E: Baehrly Breathing by Elizabeth A. Reeves

✔ Fox
F: A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison
O: The Cold Moon Run by L. Filion  (Olivia is main character)
X: Himmelbegravelsen (Sky Burial) by Xinran

✔ Gecko
G: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
E: Baehrly Bitten by Elizabeth A. Reeves
C: The Highlander's Hope by Cali MacKay
K: Honeymoon For One by Chris Keniston
O: Champagne and Lemon Drops by Jean Oram

✔ Hawk
H: Speechless by Hannah Harrington
A: Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
W: What Stays in Vegas by Beth Labonte
K: Vinter-Eventyr by Karen Blixen

✔ Impala
I: The Inconvenient Duchess by Christine Merrill
M: Hell of a Journey: On Foot Through the Scottish Highlands in Winter by Mike Cawthorne
P: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
A: Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
L: From a Whisper to a Scream by Charles de Lint 
A: Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

✔ Jellyfish
J: John Macnab by John Buchan
E: Baehrly Alive by Elizabeth A. Reeves
L: My Sweet Valentine by Jill Sanders (Lander, Sara is main character)
L: Evergreen by Brenda Pandos (Lanski, Ash is main character)
Y: The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
F: Pieces of Eight by Melissa Wright (Frey is main character)
I: Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond by Kim Harrison
S: Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer
H: Hotter Than Hell edited by Kim Harrison

✔ Kestrel
K: Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs
E: How (Not) to Kiss a Were Bear by Elizabeth A. Reeves
S: Seduction and Snacks by Tara Sivec
T: A Charming Crime by Tonya Kappes
R: The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan
E: Ever After by Kim Harrison
L: Angel by L.A. Weatherly

✔ Leopard
L: Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
E: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
O: One Sweet Summer by Cali MacKay
P: A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison
A: Alien Stars by C.J. Cherryh, Joe Haldeman, Timothy Zahn
R: Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison (Rachel is main character)
D: Drifting Home by Pierre Berton

✔ Musk Ox
M: Must Love Hellhounds by Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook
U: An Unlikely Match by Barbara Dunlop
S: The Bride wore Chocolate by Shirley Jump
K: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
O: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
X: True of Blood by Bonnie Lamer (Xandra is main character)

✔ Narwhal
N: Made to Be Broken by Kelley Armstrong (Nadia is main character)
A: A Highland Home by Cali MacKay (Angus is main character)
R: The Breeders by Katie French (Riley is main character)
W: White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
H: Hex Appeal edited by P.N. Elrod
A: A Gift of Dragons by Anne McCaffrey
L: If the Shoe Fits by Laurie LeClair

✔ Owl
O: The Enchantress by Michael Scott (Osiris is main characters father)
W: Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson
L: Legions by Karice Bolton

✔ Polar Bear
P: Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan
O: On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
L: Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie (Bronte Ludlow is main character)
A: Dragon's Kin by Anne McCaffrey
R: The Way They Were by Mary Campisi (Kate Redmond is main character)
B: A Highland Heist by Cali MacKay (Maggie Brennan is main character)
E: Every Woman For Herself by Trisha Ashley
A: Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong
R: Rise of The Seven by Melissa Wright

✔ Quail
Q: A Place Beyond The Map by Samuel Thews (Phinnegan Qwyk is main character)
U: The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison
A: The Keepers by Donna Augustine
I: It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot
L: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Hazel Grace Lancaster is main character)

✔ Raven
R: The Tiger Princess by Sarah Renee
A: After the Storm by M. Stratton
V: The Vintage Summer Wedding by Jenny Oliver
E: Kept by Elle Field
N: Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance by Penny Reid

✔ Seal
S: Skin Game by Jim Butcher
E: The Marriage Bargain by Sandra Edwards
A: Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk (Allie is main character)
L: Macaron Murder by Harper Lin

✔ Toucan
T: The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien
O: Madman's Dance by Jana Oliver
U: Untouched by Robert J. Crane
C: Cart Before the Horse by Bernadette Marie
A: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
N: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

✔ Umbrellabird
U: Unruly Magic by Camilla Chafer
M: Texas Secrets: The Gallaghers of Morning Star by Jean Brashear (Maddie is main character)
B: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
R: Forliset Og Andre Skrøner by Jørn Riel 
E: Magic Rising by Camilla Chafer (Etoile is one of the main characters)
L: Blessings by Anna Quindlen (Lydia Blessing is one of the main characters)
L: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (Legolas is one of the characters in the main group)
A: Altered Soul by Karice Bolton
B: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Bilbo Baggins is main character)
I: Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
R: The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Richard is the narrator of the story)
D: Devious Magic by Camilla Chafer

✔ Vulture
V: Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf ( Eddie Valiant is main character)
U: Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch
L: Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (Lyra is main character)
T: Dragonsblood by Todd J. McCaffrey
U: Unicorn Bait by S.A. Hunter
R: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
E: Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer (Etoile is one of the main characters)

✔ Wolf
W: Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch
O: The Lazarus Machine by Paul Crilley (Orogond is one of the main characters)
L: Monsters by C. Gockel (Loki is one of the main characters)
F: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

✔ Xoni
X: X. by Matt Thompson
O: Elfhunter by C.S. Marks (Octavia is one of the main characters)
N: The Necromancer by Michael Scott
I: Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer

✔ Yeti
Y: Yuletide Tales A Festive Collective by Peter John
E: quiet storm by Romanus Gabriel (Eugene is one of the main characters)
T: Moxyland by Lauren Beukes (Toby is one of the main characters)
I: Casino Royale: James Bond 007 by Ian Fleming

✔ Zorrilla
Z: Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane
O: The Little Christmas Kitchen by Jenny Oliver
R: Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
R: How (Not) to Love a Hero by Elizabeth A. Reeves  
I: Blood Faerie by India Drummond
L: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (Lyra is main character)
L: Z 2134 by Sean Platt and David W. Wright (Liam is one of the main characters)
A: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Unicorn Bait by S.A. Hunter

She wants to go home and all she needs is a unicorn.
When Naomi discovers a unicorn horn in her late grandfather's belongings, she doesn’t actually believe it’s real, but her grandfather had meant for her to have it, so she takes it home. While cleaning it, she accidentally pricks herself on the horn's point and is magically transported to another planet that is filled with strange and dangerous creatures. The most dangerous being her brand new husband—Lord Tavik. Naomi doesn't know much about her brand new husband, not even what he looks like, and he assures her that if she tries to sneak a peek at his face, he'll kill her.
Needless to say, Naomi desperately wants to go home, but that poses a problem because the only way she knows how is by unicorn horn, and the one she had, stayed on Earth. Her best hope is a crazy witch named Agatha, but Agatha is the one who tricked her into marrying Tavik. And then RAN OFF. Naomi must find a way to ditch her husband, find the witch, and get a unicorn to send her back home. It shouldn't be that hard to find a virgin, right? From Goodreads.

This started a bit slow but luckily it picked up and got quite interesting. Not everything is as it seems in this book and I especially liked the twist with the virgin even though it is not the first time it has been used.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R5: Team Challenge SSS
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (U-vulture)
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
A Million More Pages Hogwarts Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: December-January Mini Challenge

The Little Christmas Kitchen by Jenny Oliver

Christmas at the Davenports’ house was always about one thing: food!
But when sisters Ella and Maddy were split up, Ella to live in London with their Dad, and Maddy staying in Greece with their Mum, mince pies lost their magic.
Now, a cheating husband has thrown Ella a curved snowball…and for the first time in years, all she wants is her mum. So she heads back to Greece, where her family’s taverna holds all the promise of home. Meanwhile, waitress Maddy’s dreams of a white Christmas lead her back to London…and her Dad.
But a big fat festive life-swap isn’t as easy as it sounds! And as the sisters trade one kitchen for another, it suddenly seems that among the cinnamon, cranberries and icing sugar, their recipes for a perfect Christmas might be missing a crucial ingredient: each other. From Goodreads.



Ella and Maddy are two sisters that got split up when their parents divorced. They both resent the parent they didn't live with as they felt discarded.
Now many years later Ella, after her marriage breaks up, comes to Greece to stay with her mum and Maddy goes to London hoping not to meet her dad. The girls used to be close but they both felt the other has a better life than they themselves do, but as is often the case looks can be deceiving and not everything is as it seems.
It is a Christmas story and a romance so of course all ends well.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SS
The Challenge Factory - R5: Team Challenge SSS
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-zorilla)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
A Million More Pages Hogwarts Challenge
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2014

Elfhunter by C.S. Marks

Elfhunter is the first of the tales of Alterra, The World That Is. It concerns the quest of an unlikely pair of heroines, Gaelen and Nelwyn, who are Wood-elves of the Greatwood Forest. They are hunter-scouts in the realm of King Ri-Aruin, and they have sworn to protect their woodland home, but they are drawn into a quest to defend all the Elves of Alterra as they seek to destroy the 'Elfhunter', a monstrous entity intent on exterminating the Elves until none remain. Along the way, Gaelen and Nelwyn are joined by other interesting characters as they make their way through the realms of Alterra in pursuit of the Elfhunter, whose true name is 'Gorgon'. What headstrong Gaelen and her gentle cousin do not know is that Gorgon is in league with the Dark Power, and that the forces of Evil have forged an entanglement between Gorgon and Gaelen herself. Now she and all she loves are in jeopardy, and only an inspired plan put forth by Orogond, a mortal man, can save her. From Goodreads.


This is okay but no more, it is a bit too much a copy of LOTR. There is an evil that the elves have been fighting for millennia. There is a ring, not the same purpose but still an important ring. Elfgirl and ranger together, and a stone to look in to see the past and the possible future. I have the next two books but I am not convinced I will read them.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges - Baby Got Book
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet O-xoni)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
A Million More Pages Hogwarts Challenge

The Lazarus Machine by Paul Crilley

An alternate 1895... a world where Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace perfected the Difference engine. Where steam and tesla-powered computers are everywhere. Where automatons powered by human souls venture out into the sprawling London streets. Where the Ministry, a secretive government agency, seeks to control everything in the name of the Queen.
It is in this claustrophobic, paranoid city that seventeen-year-old Sebastian Tweed and his conman father struggle to eke out a living.
But all is not well...
A murderous, masked gang has moved into London, spreading terror through the criminal ranks as they take over the underworld. as the gang carves up more and more of the city, a single name comes to be uttered in fearful whispers.
Professor Moriarty.
When Tweed’s father is kidnapped by Moriarty, he is forced to team up with information broker Octavia Nightingale to track him down. But he soon realizes that his father’s disappearance is just a tiny piece of a political conspiracy that could destroy the British Empire and plunge the world into a horrific war. From Goodreads.

This was fun. Octavia is searching for her mother who disappeared a year ago and Sebastian is searching for his father who was just kidnapped. It is steampunk and set in victorian London. Add the name Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty and there is of course a conspiracy at royal level. This had some fun twists and turns that was not expected. I will continue this series.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
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-wolf)
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III

Madman's Dance by Jana Oliver

History is melting down courtesy of a multi-century plot to bring the Transitive shape-shifters to power. Only Time Rover Jacynda Lassiter can set things back on course, but that will be difficult. She's been abandoned in a Victorian insane asylum with no memory of who she is.
Her two Victorian friends are facing equal difficulties: Dr. Alastair Montrose is caught between his duty to uncover the truth and powerful foes who wish it buried. Once lauded as a hero, Detective-Sergeant Jonathon Keats is on the run, framed for a woman's heinous murder. Keats' arch enemy, Desmond Flaherty, can prove him innocent, but the Fenian isn't about to come forward, not with the life of his only daughter on the line.
If the anarchist's cache of explosives ignites the biggest conflagration since the Great Fire of 1666, the future will change. There will be no sanctuary from the Madman's Dance. From Goodreads.


 
It has taken me way too long to get to this last book of the Time Rovers series. This continues right where book two finished but as it is 1½ years since I read that book, it took me a bit to sort the characters. I still enjoyed it very much and it had a romance that I hadn't seen coming. I have now read both series which Jana Oliver has written and I will definitely read anything she writes in the future no matter the genre.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-toucan)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.
Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).
But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it.  From Goodreads.



I am up to date in the Kate Daniels series and have to wait for ages for Ilona Andrews to finish the next book. Luckily I can now go on to devour this series while I wait.
I really enjoyed this book and I have already ordered the next book from the library. Rose is a strong character that will fight for the survival of her family as she has done for a while. I also really like Declan and that he just lets Rose make all the wrong conclusions to anything he says. I am looking forward to the next book.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-polarbear)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III

Yuletide Tales A Festive Collective by Peter John

A diverse collection of stories showcasing some of the best indie authors on the market. Filled with heart-warming romance, mysterious humor, sinister, supernatural thrills and tearful sorrow, this anthology has something for everyone. So snuggle up with a warm glass of mulled wine and join us for the festivities, while we lift your spirit, tickle your fancy and rattle your bones. From Goodreads.

Unfortunately I didn't like most of the stories in this book. There was only 3 that were okay.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Y-yeti)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III 
Ho-Ho-Ho Holiday Read-A-Thon

The Enchantress by Michael Scott

The two that are one must become the one that is all. One to save the world, one to destroy it.
San Francisco:
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco. The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and everything in their path.
But even with the help of two of the greatest warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human race?
Danu Talis:
Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and ends.
Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for.
Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.
But will the twins of legend stand together?
Or will they stand apart—one to save the world and one to destroy it? From Goodreads.

This book starts exactly where book five stopped and it is full of surprises. This book is a bit confusing at times as some of the characters are both in present time in San Francisco and back in time in Danu Talis 10.000 years earlier.
This book was really good as it was full of twists and turns that I did not expect. Also some of the bad guys might not be as bad as they seem and some redeem themselves.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges - Baby Got Book
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-owl)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III 

X. by Matt Thompson

Cale is a young man who struggles with an unusual addiction and eventually it makes him realize what really matters to him. This is his narrative. It is often unreliable and unpredictable. He is occasionally delusional, and always over thinks. Reality is grounded in the footnotes that accompany his thoughts. It takes more than it should for Cale to come back to that reality. From Goodreads.

I like reading free books and mostly they are okay. I needed a book with title starting with X for a challenge and chose this. This is the worst book I have read in 2014. Cale's unusual addiction is masturbation so of course this is mentioned quite often in the book though luckily not in any great detail. Cale doesn't really care about anybody but himself. It was also a problem that 15% of this book was footnotes and these were important footnotes as it was part of the story. That just doesn't work well in e-book.
Not a book for me and I will not be reading more from this author. 

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (X-xoni)

Z 2134 by Sean Platt and David W. Wright

z 2134 is a thrilling new zombie serial in the spirit of 1984, The Walking Dead, and The Hunger Games, from the writers of the post-apocalyptic smash hit serial, Yesterday’s Gone.
It is the year 2134 in a dystopian America, following a series of zombie plagues which infected and decimated much of the world’s population starting 100 years ago.
Those left, formed six walled Cities throughout the continent, all under the rule of a totalitarian government which enforces strict control over its populace.
You must obey your government.
You must be a good citizen.
You must be a productive citizen.
You must not break the law.
Or The City Watch will find you and arrest you.
Jonah Lovecraft, a former Watcher, was arrested for the murder of his wife. And like most criminals, he has one chance at freedom — to participate in The Darwin Games, a televised survival show which pits two players from each city against one another in The Barrens, the uninhabited areas outside the City Walls.
He’ll also have to face another enemy — the zombies which still roam The Barrens.
As he fights for his freedom against impossible odds, his daughter, Anastasia, stumbles into people who have information about her father — information which will change her life forever.
But it will also put her in the crosshairs of her father’s enemies. From Goodreads.

Yes, I chose this book because I needed a title Z. But luckily it was better than expected. There is of course an underground movement when a world is run like this and we meet a lot of them. But there is also a lot of spies. The government is bad but it is difficult to figure out if the characters are good or bad. This ends in a cliffhanger and I might continue the series at a later date even though I don't like the spy part.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-zorilla)

The Necromancer by Michael Scott

San Francisco:
Josh and Sophie Newman are finally home. And they're both more confused than ever about their future. Neither of them has mastered the magics they'll need to protect themselves, they've lost Scatty, and they're still being pursued by Dr. John Dee. Most disturbing of all, however, is that now they must ask themselves, can they trust Nicholas Flamel? Can they trust anyone?
Alcatraz:
Dr. Dee underestimated Perenelle Flamel's power. Alcatraz could not hold her, Nereus was no match for her, and she was able to align herself with the most unlikely of allies. But she wasn't the only one being held on the island. Behind the prison's bars and protective sigils were a menagerie of monsters, and now Machiavelli has come to Alcatraz to loose them on San Francisco.
Perenelle might be powerful, but each day she weakens, and even with Nicholas back at her side, a battle of this size could be too much for her. Nicholas and Perenelle must fight to protect the city, but the effort will probably kill them both.
London:
Having been unable to regain the two final pages of the Codex, Dee has failed his Elder and is now an outlaw.
But the Magician has a plan. With the Codex and the creatures on Alcatraz, he can control the world. All he needs is the help of the Archons. But for his plan to work, he must raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead. For that, he'll have to train a necromancer.  From Goodreads.

I like this series. I know we have to believe that the Flamels are the good guys but they make it quite hard in-between. I find Josh quite whiny but I guess he has to be that to do the things he does. I like his twin sister Sophie much more. I am looking forward to read the continuation.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (N-xoni)

Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch

Born into mystery. Shackled to darkness....
Khara has spent centuries discovering everything about the Underworld―except her place in it. But when she is ripped from her home, solving the riddle of her origins becomes more important than ever. With evil stalking her through the dark alleys of Detroit, she finds salvation from an unlikely source: a group of immortal warriors sworn to protect the city. Khara needs their help to unravel the tangled secrets of who and what she is — secrets many seem willing to kill for. But time is running out, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer necessity binds her to an arrogant fallen angel.
Can their shaky alliance withstand that which threatens her, or will her soul fall victim to the unholy forces that hunt her―those that seek the Unborn? From Goodreads.





I needed a book by an author with N for last name. I found this on Kindle unlimited and liked that I could listen to it. This is full of mythology. Khara is, like the group of immortal warriors she meets, a child of Ares. She has lived all her life, which is centuries, half the year with Hades and half the year with Demeter. This book is about finding out who / what she is and how she deals with it. It was interesting enough that I will look out for the next book that has not yet been published.

This book qualifies for:
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Setting Alphabet Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (U-vulture)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Blood Faerie by India Drummond

Sentenced to death, Eilidh ran—away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything. From Goodreads.

Okay I have a weakness for Scotland as I have lived there some years and my favourite genre is paranormal. Put these two things together and the likelihood of me enjoying the book is high.
I did like this book about Eilidh, an outcast faerie. She has been avoiding humans while living among them for the last 25 years. Now she has to prevent murders, comitted by another outcast faerie, taking place in Perth. Here she meets Quinton, a policeman, and things develop.

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

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 

Quiet storm by Romanus Gabriel

Becky Douglas and Eugene Thompson have one thing in common: they hate romance. Becky derives pleasure from hurting men. She has broken quite some hearts and will not hesitate to break more should she have the opportunity. Eugene always has one question: if he doesn’t give his heart to any woman how can his heart be broken by any woman? When these two meet, their refusal to respect each other is natural. From Goodreads.

This was a quick read but unfortunately not great. I usually don't get bothered by spelling mistakes but in this book they annoyed me. Becky and Eugene hate romance but of course end up loving each other. I am glad I did not pay for this book.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge

True of Blood by Bonnie Lamer

"I have a television so I know what a family is supposed to look like but mine is nothing like that. To begin with, both my parents are dead. Not the kind of dead where you bury them in the ground, say some nice words, cry a lot and then never see them again. Nope, when they died they refused to ‘go into the light’ or whatever it is you’re supposed to do when you die. Instead, they came back home. As ghosts. Have you ever been sent to your room by a parent who has no corporeal form? I have and it sucks..."
Xandra Illuminata Smith has lived for the last three years with ghosts as parents but her life gets even stranger after her seventeenth birthday when she finds out that her mother is actually a Witch in hiding and her biological father, whom she knew nothing about, is a Fairy and King of the Fae realm.
Xandra is the first Witch Fairy to be born in thousands of years for very good reason. No one should be able to control that much magic and Xandra was never meant to be born at all but her mother has managed to keep her hidden away until now.
The Witches want her dead and the Fairies want her blood, for only her blood will reopen the gateway to the Fae realm and allow them back into this realm to take revenge on humans and Witches alike for having banished them hundreds of years ago.
Xandra has very little time to learn how to use her powerful Witch and Fairy magic that has been bound since her birth while running from the Fairies who managed to jump realms and want to take her blood to set the others free. She needs someone to teach her and her parents enlist the help of one powerful Fairy who claims to want to keep the realms closed to each other. He will help keep her safe and alive as she learns, at least that's what he says... From Goodreads.

This is a cute and also fun young adult book. Xandra doesn't want magic to be true and suddenly has to fight for her life while learning to use her witch / fairy powers. And, yes there is a bit of romance as well. Being a YA book, it was an easy read. I might read a few more books in this series this month.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Moxyland by Lauren Beukes

You think you know what’s going on?
You think you know who’s really in power?
You have No. &*@^ing. Idea.
Moxyland is an ultra-smart thriller about technological progress, and the freedoms it removes. In the near future, four hip young things live in a world where your online identity is at least as important as your physical one. Getting disconnected is a punishment worse than imprisonment, but someone’s got to stand up to government inc., whatever the cost. From Goodreads.

I didn't like this book and it wasn't very interesting. I usually think I am pretty good at separating and remembering characters in books. In this book there were only four main characters, supposed to be from different parts of society, but honestly I couldn't tell them apart. Not a book for me.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (T-yeti)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

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