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