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 

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

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 - Finished

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.


This RaT is now finished in my time zone and I have done reasonable well with 1979 pages in total. My main goal for the RaT was to catch up on my September challenges and I managed that.

My list of books:

1. Monsters by C. Gockel
2. The Marriage Bargain by Sandra Edwards
3. Magic Rising by Camilla Chafer
4. Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer 
5. Color My Horse by Bev Pettersen
6. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (audio - not finished)
7. Dracula by Bram Stoker  (not finished)

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

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 - Update

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.

Saturday 27th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Monsters by C. Gockel - finished the last 190 pages (Book finished)
The Marriage Bargain by Sandra Edwards - 113 pages (instead of One Tiny Miracle )
(Saturday total pages 361) total pages 361

Sunday 28th
The Marriage Bargain by Sandra Edwards - 133 pages (Book finished)
Magic Rising by Camilla Chafer - 259 pages (Book finished)
(Sunday total pages 392) total pages 753

Monday 29th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 51 pages.
Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer  by Camilla Chafer - 250 pages (Book finished)
(Monday total pages 301) total pages 1054

Tuesday 30th
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - listened to 60 pages.
(Tuesday total pages 60) total pages 1114

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) total pages 1531

Thursday 2nd
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 80 sider
(Thursday total pages 138) total pages 1669

Friday 3rd
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - listened to 58 pages.
Dracula by Bram Stoker  - 247 sider
(Friday total pages 305) total pages 1974

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

Magic Rising by Camilla Chafer

For Stella, the Witches’ Council Summit is supposed to be about getting to know her fellow witches but instead she finds herself on trial for murder. The accusations may be evidence of a sinister plot at work or they may be a ruse to draw attention away from the mounting tensions as the witches vie for supremacy. Reaching out to her boyfriend Evan for help would be reassuring… if he wasn’t oddly unreachable, working a case even his closest friend doesn't know anything about
As the ominous reasons behind the trial come to light, an assassin unleashes a terrifying campaign against the Council candidates. With tensions running high and accusations flying faster than a backfiring spell, the witches are forced to gather together for safety, but that might just lead to an implosion as the culprit is sought.
Plus there’s the small matter of an ancient talisman the werewolves want, a talisman that they say was stolen, but the more she investigates, the more it appears that it isn’t the simple artefact they claim it to be.
With Evan still missing and her world more complicated than ever, the choices Stella must make might confirm her place as a formidable witch in her new world or leave her excommunicated… forever. From Goodreads.

I am totally into this series at the moment and I am going to read the next one right away. In this one Stella finally starts acting more independently and I am looking forward to the next book.

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-Umbrellabird)
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9

The Marriage Bargain by Sandra Edwards

Camille Chandler is a tabloid journalist whose career is right on track--until her boss sees a curious ad in the L.A. Trades.
Wanted: Single actress for an extended gig abroad.
France's mega-rich playboy Julian de Laurent is up to something and Camille's boss expects her to find out what. Who knew the eccentric gazillionaire was looking to hire a temporary wife?
When Camille refuses to accept Julian's proposal--and secretly write a juicy tell-all about the de Laurent family--she's fired and left financially destitute, forcing her to entertain Julian's proposal for real.
But what'll happen at the end of the contract period, after Camille has spent six months as the wife of a man she learns is capable of stealing her heart? From Goodreads.






This was an okay romance. Not very plausible but a quick, cosy read.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge 2014
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-seal)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9

Monsters by C. Gockel

After being attacked by a serial killer, saved by Loki — so-called God of Mischief, Lies and Chaos — dragged to Alfheim, losing every cent in her bank account, and caring for her grandmother, Amy Lewis has lost her scholarship to veterinary school. But it’s alright. She has a plan. If she manages to keep her day job as a receptionist, and her night job as a vet tech, she may be able to get her scholarship reinstated and save enough money for the dreaded ‘miscellaneous fees.’
Too bad her day boss is unbearable...
Agent Steve Rogers has political aspirations, but when a suitcase nuke turns out to be something much worse and so-called Norse gods start showing up in his life, he has a priority shift.
Meanwhile, Loki’s priorities and plans haven’t changed at all. He wants Asgard to burn. Of course, earthly pleasures can be so distracting.
These three disparate characters have little in common, but they’ll have to join forces to save earth from trolls, wyrms, frost giant invasions, and an old evil growing beneath Chicago’s streets.
In this second volume of “I Bring the Fire,” chaos comes to our world and decides to stay. The nine realms will never be the same. From Goodreads.

Book 1 in this series had a very abrupt ending and I knew I wanted to read the second. Unfortunately it often takes me a long time to get to the next in the series, this time over a year. This meant I actually went back and read the last chapter in the first book just to remind myself of the story.
In this second book Loki is trying to free Cera, an entity, that has been captured on earth by the help of Odin. Amy is mad at Loki but of course also in love with him. This book introduce Steve, an agent, who is part of the team looking after the entity. I now need to read the third book.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R4: Team Challenge SSS
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 (L-wolf)
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #9 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.

September is almost over, and that means it's time for our next Read-a-Thon!

Our next RaT will begin at 12:01am on Saturday, September 27 and end at midnight on Friday, October 4, a total of seven days. (Use your local time for start/end times.) We're hoping that this will help you finish your September reading lists/challenges and get a head start on next month's reading!

Again, our goals for this RaT will be to:
(1) complete any challenges ending in September that you haven't finished yet and start on your October challenges (when appropriate) and/or
(2) work on that pile of library or borrowed books that's waiting for your attention and/or
(3) read anything you want to read, just because!

If none of these goals suit your reading this month, create your own goal and let us know what you hope to accomplish :) As you read, be sure to check in here and let us know what you've read, what you think of the book, and anything else you want to tell us about it!

What do you "need" to read? And what do you *want to read? If you want to set a goal -- books finished, pages read, time spent reading -- you can do that too :)  

It has been a few months since I last took part in this end of the month RaT but I am behind in my reading this month and need to finish a few books for my challenges and hopefully this can push me to read.

Apart from the books on the list below I might add books when I Saturday evening and Sunday morning get told which books to read for the Bookshelf battle challenge and Super Speedy Series challenge

For September I NEED to read:

1. Monsters by C. Gockel (Super Speedy Series, need to finish by Saturday 27th in the evening)
2. Magic Rising by Camilla Chafer (September 2014 Creature ~ Witches! and Yahtzee Challenge.)
3. Arcane Magic by Camilla Chafer (September 2014 Creature ~ Witches! and Yahtzee Challenge.)
4. One Tiny Miracle by Carol Marinelli (Jumble your genres challenge - September.)

For October I WANT to read:

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker (Frightfall RaT and 2014 Literary Exploration and Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014)
2. Moxyland by Lauren Beukes (Jumble your genres challenge - Oktober and for Sub-Genre Challenge 2014)
3. True of Bloodby Bonnie Lamer (Monthly Motif and Monthly Key Word challenge.)