kathleenmontemayor1

The main character in this book was endearing. Even when she did things that defied belief, her motivation to do the right thing was always crystal clear. I have to give Liam credit for sticking it out with Ruby even when she pushed him away. The writing kept me engaged. The author ratcheted up the drama to the surprising end. I love Ruby's slightly obsessive inner monologue and her love of shoes.

Coming Soon!

This series is addicting. I like Ms. Briggs style. There is no bad language, but she makes it seem realistic without it. Mercy has her code of honor that she won't deviate from and she is a true and loyal friend. I am learning a lot about folklore and Fae just by reading. This one got a bit intense, but the ending gives me hope for Mercy and the werewolves she cares about.

Five Super Nova stars for Nightmares of the Queen. This second book in the series is even better than the first.

It picks up shortly after the first book and Captain Lewis, Lars and Mathews are back on their earth. Or are they? Something is not quite right. Although they were only gone a week, ten years have passed on this planet earth. Events in the past have been altered or eliminated altogether.

The momentum builds with each passing chapter and instead of finding answers, the characters are left with more questions.

Cass is literally fighting for control of her own body. She doesn't know why she is married to Julian and has no memory of the wedding.

Jaemon is fiercely loyal to Cass, but can't understand her cruel and erratic behavior.

Captain Lewis and the other military officers that survived the wormhole are trying to make sense of this strange earth when Ta'mat comes crashing into their lives once again. This time the whole planet is in danger of Ta'mat. The strands of the story pull tighter and tighter right up to the shocking end.

There are a lot of great lines in this book but my favorite is from Cass/Ta'mat when she describes warping the space time fabric of the multiverse:
She'd tried to quantify it to a human experience-being drunk and high while eating your favorite food and having an orgasm.

I think that just about says it all. This book is un-put-down-able. I was up late reading two nights in a row. I kept telling myself "just one more chapter, then I'll go to bed." It never happened, though. There was never a place I wanted to stop. I have never liked math and never been good at it. After reading Nightmares of the Queen, I know why. Math is truly evil.

It all begins with an alien race from 500 BC coming to earth to seed the planet with their species. These aliens all have names of Greek gods and super human strength. Then the story flashes to August 31,2012. Marcus and Charlie, two former Army Rangers, are unloading a spacecraft. Marcus opens a letter from his mentor, Robert, explaining his origins and he recalls all the events from the prior month, beginning with his birthday in Las Vegas.
Marcus has super human strength and when he foils a bank robbery at age sixteen, he becomes instantly famous and earns the nickname Superman. Robert, a mentor and benefactor, brings him to live at his compound.
Michael, a megalomaniac who wants to get even with Robert for excluding him from his secret society, throws a lot of obstacles in Marcus's way. There are terrorist plots, a nuclear device, a crazy giant that feels no pain and a disloyal ex-girlfriend.
The author uses flashbacks and alternates between first person-Marcus's point of view, and third person. The third person is primarily utilized by the bad guys to inform the reader of their evil plots and intentions. The story builds with Marcus coming closer to the truth and the mystery that surrounds his relationship with Robert and Tyler and the origins of his super abilities.
I liked that the author includes some of the Superman lore into the story. For example, Marcus's love interest is named Lois and drinking alcohol affects him like red kryptonite. Overall, it was an action-filled, enjoyable read, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a lot of action with superheroes and military plots.

This is my first book by Ms. Briggs, but it won't be my last. Mercy is an automechanic/walker. Not a walker in the zombie sense, a walker in the native American shapeshifter sense. A young werewolf shows up at her repair shop looking for work, and Mercy inadvertently becomes embroiled in pack politics. She is not fae, witch, werewolf or vampire, but must get along well enough with all the groups to find her alpaha werewolf neighbor's daughter and try to keep the peace. I look forward to other books in this series.

This book is not at all what I expected. It was very good, but surprising. The MC, Miles, collects the last words of famous people, and goes to a boarding school in search of the "Great Perhaps". (Famous last words of poet Francois Rabelais) He makes friends with a small group of people who aren't the Weekday Warriors, the rich kids who go home on the weekends. Part of their mission is to pull pranks on the Eagle, the dean of students. He falls in love with Alaska, a complicated girl who is an enigma to him. While he is seeking the "Great Perhaps", she is trying to "get out of this labyrinth." (last words of Simon Bolivar) One moment she is happy and funny and in love with life. The next, she is depressed and angry and wants to be by herself.
I won't give any spoilers, but midway through the book an event occurs that causes the group to question everything. There is blame and guilt and a need to find answers and remember. Miles finally realizes that in life you don't always get all the answers and you may never know why.

This book didn't speak to me; it sang. Opera-with full orchestral accompaniment.
The opening paragraph is the best I've ever read:

I hate my left hand. I hate to look at it. I hate it when it stutters and trembles and reminds me that my identity is gone. But I look at it anyway, because it also reminds me that I'm going to find the boy who took everything from me. I'm going to kill the boy who killed me, and when I kill him, I'm going to do it with my left hand.

If you can read that and NOT turn the page, you're a stronger person than I am.

What I love about this book: I could go on and on about the writing style. It is exquisite. It is tiramisu in novel form. Reading it is effortless. The way the author squeezes out bits of information and clues about the main characters along the way is genius. (view spoiler) Of course, if the story is dull and boring, who cares about the writing style? This story is addictive and it will keep you up reading into the night.

What I loved about the characters:
Nastya-I get Nastya. I understand her hiding behind her clothing and not speaking for 450 plus days. I know that she is damaged and I can understand her wanting to close herself off and become someone unrecognizable. I can see why she runs: to run away from her problems and so physically drain herself to keep the sleepless nights and nightmares away. And I understand why she writes repetitive things in her journal every single night. She keeps herself in an inflexible routine and doesn't have a spare moment to ponder things. Everything she does is a deliberate choice. There is nothing spontaneous about this girl.

Josh- The boy who has lost everyone and has nothing else to lose. He has become emancipated out of necessity. There is no one left to take care of him. He has an imaginary force field around him and everyone leaves him alone. His friend Drew and Nastya are the only ones who breach it. He is passionate about wood-working and excels at it. His garage is his safe haven. When I think of Josh, I think of a guy who is just really sad. But even so, he's no where near as messed up as Nastya. A lot of book boyfriends take the blame for things that happen to the girl even when it's not their fault. I find it refreshing that Josh doesn't do that. He tells her:
Congratulations then. You wanted to be ruined? Well, you did yourself one better because you wrecked me too, Sunshine.

Drew-It took me a while to figure this guy out, but once I did, I loved him. He is a smooth talker and excellent debater. Even though Nastya doesn't speak, she helps him on the Debate team with research. He can get anything he wants from girls. At first I thought he was an over-sexed pig, but then I realized, much later than Nastya, that with him it's all a show. He pretends that he's hooking up with Nsstya and says all these crude things right in front of her. She goes along with it and lets everyone think the worst of her. But she knows he's full of it, and it's become a game with them. They both know that nothing is going to happen between the two of them. He takes her to parties so that he doesn't have to deal with other girls trying to hook up with him. He's really avoiding Tierney, the one girl that really matters.

Clay-Finally a gay character that isn't a cardboard cut-out stereotype. He is actually like gay people I know. Many books I've read use the gay guy as a best friend for the girl. The gay guy's whole raison d'etre is to help his best friend get together with the book boyfriend. I have always found this absurd. Clay is an artist. He doesn't want to fix Nastya. He doesn't want to take her on shopping trips and impart his chic style on her. (He doesn't have a chic style, which is also refreshing.)He doesn't want to help her in her relationship with Josh. He doesn't issue meaningless threats to Josh like "you better not hurt her or I'll beat you up." No, he's an artist and he does what artists do. He draws pictures of Nastya because he finds her to be an interesting subject to draw.

The ending was almost as good as the beginning. Who would have ever thought the words "your garage" would be so meaningful. The ending leaves me with some hope for Nastya/Emilia and Josh. They won't ever make beautiful music together but I think they will make beautiful furniture.