The Unleashing

The Unleashing (Call of the Crows #1)
by Shelly Laurenston

Genre:  Paranormal Fantasy; Mythlogy
Publisher: Kensington on 31 March 2015
Thank you NetGalley

Kera Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn’t for her hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die.
In uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig “Vig” Rundstrom has never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way to save her life—but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty women. With wings. So not the Marines.
But Vig can’t give up on someone as special as Kera. With a storm of oh-crap magic speeding straight for L.A., survival will depend on combining their strengths: Kera’s discipline, Vig’s loyalty… and the Crows’ sheer love of battle. Boy, are they in trouble.

My thoughts:
I have to admit that I was afraid to start this one.  Shelly Laurenston is my favourite (auto-buy) author but I was nervous that somehow her new series would not live up to THE PRIDE series which I love.   I should not have hesitated.  This new series features the same feisty, kickass women and the same humor all wrapped up in a new package.  

This is Kera and Vig's story but I can tell some of the other women's stories are going to be awesome.  There are lots of friction between the girls as the story starts but by the end of the book, they are a tight unit that would do anything for each other.

Even thought the sub-plot of the story are Kera and Vig's relationship (which I loved), the romance is light and does not take over the book - which is what I enjoy in my books.

The Unleashing is almost a guilty pleasure as the all male characters were automatically the supporting cast.  This book was all about the women - The Crows.  I am sure we will learn all about all of them and I can't wait.  

Audiobook Challenge - January to March 2015 update

This year my goal is to listen to 50+ audiobooks.  At the rate I am going, I might have over extended myself a bit.  So far I have only listened to 15 books.  

The problem is not finding time to listen to books.  In fact I have been home for about three weeks after an operation and I have only listened to three books this whole month.  And now I have almost a month left of my sick leave but I am not listening to any books!  Finding the right book for my mood is my problem.   I am definitely a mood reader and to find something that I enjoy at a certain time is a problem for me.  I have started so many books but have changed to something different after a hour or so for many, many books.   

Here is my list so far:

1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (03/01/2015)
2. Open and Shut by David Rosenfeldt (04/01/2015)
3. The Silent Wife by ASA Harrison (07/01/2015)
4. The Truth is a cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaimen (11/01/2015)
5. Horns by Joe Hill (13/01/2015)
6. Wolf in white van by John Darnielle (16/01/2015)
7. The Ruins by Scott Smith (21/01/2015)
8. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (23/01/2015)
9. The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald (06/02/2015)
10. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (10/02/2015)
11. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (18/02/2015)
12. Revival by Stephen King (25/02/2015)
13. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (audiobook 57 hours and 13 minutes) - 05/03/2015
14. Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (19/03/2015)
15. In the tall grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill (27/03/2015)

My favourites so far this year are The Ruins by Scott Smith and Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.  Two very different books but I loved them.  

I might have to find a favourite read and re-listen to it :) I have to do something to get myself listening again! 

Reading Stephen King

I love Stephen King and have read many of his books.  Just finished Revival and thought that it would be fun reading some more.  So here is the list of all his books.  I have crossed off those that I have read in the last year or so.  The rest I will be re-reading or reading for the first time now.  If you see that any book is missing from my list, please let me know or if you want to buddy-read any, drop me a line too.  

Next up is 11/22/63 that I will be reading with a group of book buddies in March :)

Carrie (1974)
‘Salem’s Lot (1975)
The Shining (1977)
Rage (1977)
Night Shift (1978)
The Stand (1978)
The Long Walk (1979) [by Richard Bachman]
The Dead Zone (1979)
Firestarter (1980)
Roadwork (1981) [by Richard Bachman]
Danse Macabre (1981)
Cujo (1981)
The Running Man (1982) [by Richard Bachman]
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982)
Different Seasons (1982)
Creepshow (1982)
Christine (1983)
Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)
Pet Sematary (1983)
The Eyes of the Dragon (1984)
The Talisman (1984) with Peter Straub
Thinner (1984) [by Richard Bachman]
Skeleton Crew (1985)
IT (1986)
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
Misery (1987)
The Tommyknockers (1987)
The Dark Half (1989)
The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition (1990)
Four Past Midnight (1990)
The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands (1991)
Needful Things (1991)
Gerald’s Game (1992)
Dolores Claiborne (1992)
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)
Insomnia (1994)
Rose Madder (1995)
The Green Mile (1996)
Desperation (1996)
The Regulators (1996) [by Richard Bachman]
The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass (1997)
Bag of Bones (1998)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)
Hearts in Atlantis (1999)
Storm of the Century (1999)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000)
Dreamcatcher (2001)
Black House (2001) with Peter Straub
Everything’s Eventual (2001)
From a Buick 8 (2002)
The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah (2004)
The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower (2004)
Faithful (2004) with Stewart O’Nan
The Colorado Kid (2005)
Cell (2006)
Lisey’s Story (2006)
The Secretary of Dreams, Volume One (2006)
Blaze (2007) [by Richard Bachman]
Duma Key (2008)
Just After Sunset (2008)
Under the Dome (2009)
Blockade Billy (2010)
The Secretary of Dreams: Volume 2 (2010)
Full Dark, No Stars (2010)
11/22/63 (2011)
The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
Joyland (2013)
The Dark Man (2013)
Doctor Sleep (2013)
Mr. Mercedes (2014)
Revival (2014)
Finders Keepers (2015)
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015)

Red  =  books in TBR

My TBR Box

I have been taking a look at my TBR for a while and have at last finished making a list.

There are 110 physical copies of (e)books or audiobooks in my list.  Not so bad.  I thought it was much worse.  I have also updated my Goodreads TBR list taking off books that I am no longer interested in.  Life is too short . . .   So now I have a total of 157 on my list including books I have not bought yet.

I am planning on drawing three books a month so that I can reduce my pile and then the rest of the month can be "this-is-what-I-feel-like" books.

My first three choices are:

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson


Everyone has been talking about Brandon Sanderson.  I am not usually a fantasy fan but I am going to give it a shot :)

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?
In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

John Scalzi is a favourite of many of my bookish friends, so I will try this one this month.

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

And then lastly a novel by I an author that I have enjoyed before.

Lazarus Vault by Tom Harper

800 years ago, one man wrote the legend that became the greatest quest in history...

Deep in the heart of London, the Monsalvat Bank is small, secretive and fabulously wealthy, with roots going far back into the middle ages. When Ellie Stanton, an impoverished graduate student, is unexpectedly invited to join the firm, the privileged world they offer looks too good to turn down.

But the bank is more than it seems. Soon Ellie realises that her life belongs to her employers - and they're watching her every move. For buried in their medieval vaults lies a closely guarded treasure of immeasurable power - one inextricably bound up with Ellie's extraordinary history.

Now Ellie is in a race against time, hunted by the bank and pursued by her past. Her only hope of escape is to unearth the secret hidden in the vault. But getting in is only the beginning...

How large is your TBR?

Instagram

I am a bit of a techo-phobe.  

It took me years to warm to Facebook.  Today I love it but social media is hard for me to feel comfortable in.  Even today, twitter is not my friend.  I am hoping that Instagram will be a good fit for me.  

The concept intrigues me.  Taking photos and posting them - sounds like something I would enjoy.   I have always felt a bit awkward posting random photos to Facebook, so this might be the perfect solution for me.  I have only posted two photos so far.  Hopefully things will pick up in the next few days, weeks . . . months.

I have been reading a few how-to articles and it does not sound too difficult.  

Unfortunately I have a crappy phone, so I am sure the photos will not be of the quality that I would like but I am upgrading to a new phone in a few months.  Until that time it will have to do.

I would love to hear what you think of Instagram and tips will be most welcome.