What's on the Nightstand #43-#64

Hope you guys had a wonderful holiday! Sorry my blog is late this week, summer has been busy, busy, busy around the Wood house. But that’s not unusual. What is different this year is that we spent nearly the entire month of June hanging out with the family down south. What a great time! All the boys really seemed to enjoy being able to spend some real quality time as cousins. And the precious nephews are growing like weeds!

All that family time meant there wasn’t much left over for working. So I’m spending the first few days of July scrambling to catch up on pages. Last count I had ten to go before I’m caught up. (p.s. that’s amazing, you should be shocked) Mad props go to the hubs and boys for finally understanding that a closed office door means I don’t care what Sponge Bob or that crazy Cajun who catches gators just said, so don’t come in and tell me.

Not working also meant I had lots of time to read. I read many of my old favorites in June but here are a few new ones too. WOW! I just realized how long it's been since I did a nightstand post. (whoopsie!) Sorry guys, revisions tend to push everything else to the periphery. This post will catch us back up though. To save time, I'm going to skip the ones we've already talked about and just hit the new books. :)

Be it a new release or treasured favorite, give a book some love this week. Additionally, thank a librarian for all his/her hard work in the name of books and those who love them.

Till Then,

KD

#44 Cinder by Marrissa Myer - This is a wonderful retelling set in a futuristic world of droids and post-apocalyptic ruin. Myer did a great job with the protagonist. I immediately became invested in her story. A great read that I highly recommend for teens and adults.

#45 White Horse by Alex Adams - This was one of my favorite kind of finds. I stumbled across it at Walmart never having heard a thing about it beforehand. The jacket blurb did it's job well enough for me to take it home. Alex did a wonderful job hooking me into this story. I read it in one day because I HAD to know what happened. That's my favorite kind of read. Highly recommended for Adult readers.

#46 Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward - Let it hence forth be known that I support my fellow Mississippi writers. Why you ask? Because the jacket blurb alone wouldn't have enticed me to pick up this book. I don't usually read reality based fiction. Fantasy and paranormals draw me in quicker. I'm happy to report though, it was well worth the read. What an excellent story! Jesmyn did a wonderful job creating some excellent characters around something so horrible and sad. Not an easy task but she nailed it. Others also agree because this is an award winning story. Excellent read for adults. 

#47 The Death Cure by James Dashner - The third book in the maze runner series. I'll admit this. I was upset with the second book. The cliff hanger was so abrupt and harsh it made me want to pitch the book across the room. I was hooked, invested, panting for those kids and the ending pitched me out on my head! Bravo Mr. Dasher, I love a story that can take me to the edge. Great teen read. 

#48 Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris - Sookie is facing some real hard choices in this book and breaking my heart. It was great to see her go there though and stand strong. I'll be sad to see this series end with the next book but boy it's been a great ride. THANK YOU CHARLAINE! 

#49 Destined by Aprilynn Pike - YA Day bud Aprilynn closed this series with exactly the right amount of everything. I'll miss the characters but the journey was fabulous. Thank you Aprilynn, especially for the letter at the end. 

*are you sensing a theme yet?* I haz a sad because all my series are ending... 

#50 City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - Guys, if you haven't started reading these books I don't know what you're waiting on! This is one of my favorite series. Best of all, the first book, CITY OF BONES is in pre-production as I type. This will be the next Hunger Games type blockbuster. City of Lost Souls is book number five in the Mortal Instruments series and it doesn't disappoint. I read yesterday that Cassie delivered her next manuscript. What an awesome way to put some bang in your 4th! Congrats Cassie! Don't want to be left out of all the fun do you? SO GET TO READING!   

#51 Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison - This is the next book in Thea's Elder Races series. Thea has yet to disappoint me with these books. The romance is rich, colorful with just the right amount of flaws. Great read and can't wait for the next one.   

#52 Shine by Jeri Smith Ready - Jeri is another YA Day bud who writes a wonderful story. I paused in my reading to thank her for the near cardiac event she gave me on page six. Her answer sounded gleeful, as all writers do when their work is spot on. Bravo Jeri, I loved these books and look forward to reading more of your work.

#55 Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - This is a fabulous series and isn't that cover to die for gorgeous? The way Lauren uses a concept we all take for granted and turns it against the characters is amazing. This is a wonderful teen series and I'm looking forward to the next book.

#57 A Secret Rage by Charlaine Harris - This photo shows a refreshed cover for this book from 2007. My library carries the original blue and white cover and you can tell many hands have lovingly caressed it's pages in the over twenty years since she first penned the story. While we were at Daddy's Girls Weekend hosted by Carolyn Haines in April, A Secret Rage was recommended to me by NY Times Best Selling Author Dean James who writes cozy mysteries as Miranda James. And he was right (of course) this is a fabulous read. There are some things you can wing as a writer, and some you can't. Violence and how it feels on your person, the bomb it sets off in your life and what it does to you afterwards isn't something you can "sort of" know about and pull off on paper. Charlaine's depth of understanding really shines with these characters who have to face some pretty ugly faces of the old and new south. If you haven't read this story, do.

#62 Revenant by Carolyn Haines - This book is one of my top two favorites of Carolyn's stand alone books. The story took me to a familiar place, Biloxi, MS and then dumped me into a thriller I'm still wrapping my head around. This is a book I would LOVE to see adapted to the screen. If you haven't read Revenant you should, immediately.

#63 Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake has jumped head first into some pretty heavy police work in Laurell's next Vampire Hunter book. The last two chapters had me by the throat, so to speak. *wink* This book set several new threads in motion I wasn't expecting so I'm looking forward to what Laurell has in store for Anita next time.

#64 Bonefire of the Vanities by Carolyn Haines - What a fun experience it was to attend the launch weekend for Carolyn's new Sarah Booth Delaney mystery. My friend An'gel and I spent a spooky weekend in a fabulous antique bed and breakfast with Carolyn and the gang as she signed books until the store sold out, went on a ghost tour and a few other things only the guilty parties are privy to. What happens in Vicksburg stays in Vicksburg, right girls... Bonefire is a sexy, scary read and Carolyn's characters don't fail to bring the funny along too. The first book in the series is THEM BONES so get started if you haven't already.