ARC Book Review: Lucretia & The Kroons

Book Title: Lucretia & The Kroons
Author: Victor LaValle

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau via Random House Digital
Format: ebook
Genre: Adult Fiction

Cost: $0.99

Pages: 100

How I got it: Publisher via NetGalley

My Rating:★★★1/2
Erotica Rating: N/A
Synopsis:

From one of the most acclaimed young writers of fiction in America today comes a fast-paced and fantastical novella about a young girl's journey into a dark netherworld to find her missing best friend. This eBook edition contains an exclusive excerpt from Victor LaValle's new novel The Devil in Silver, about which Gary Shteyngart raves, "Literary horror just found a new master." Lucretia's best friend and upstairs neighbor Sunny-a sweet pitbull of a kid, even as she struggles with a mysterious illness-has gone missing. The only way to get her back is for Lucretia to climb the rickety fire escape of their Queens tenement and crawl through the window of apartment 6D, portal to a vast shadowland of missing kids ruled by a nightmarish family of mutants whose designs on the children are unknown. Her search for Sunny takes Lucretia through a dark fantasyland where she finds lush forests growing from concrete, pigeon-winged rodents, and haunted playgrounds. Her quest ultimately forces her to confront the most frightening specter of all: losing, forever, the thing you love the most. Lucretia and the Kroons is a dazzlingly imaginative adventure story and a moving exploration of the power of friendship and the terror of loss. This all-new novella serves as the perfect companion piece to The Devil in Silver, a thrillingly suspenseful work of literary horror that continues the story of Lucretia.

My Review:

"Being young doesn't protect you, horrors come for kids, too"

It took forever to get to this book, and it's one of the few novellas I have read that went as fast as it did.  I've never read this author before, so his writing style was new to me. The story just jumped right into it, now pretense or build up, it just went right to it.

Now this is a very different kind of book for me, a bit of a magical realism, yet very different.  Loochie is a kid who doesn't realize that the world is kind of harsh; her best friend was sick from leukaemia and dying and she still doesn't understand just how bad the disease is.  When her older brother visits just before her friend comes over to celebrate her birthday, he shares with her the story of the Kroons as a way to scare her about being alone in the house for the first time by herself.

I was kind of confused reading this book, what would have happened if her brother didn't tell her about the Kroons?? How would have this worked out?? How comes she didn't hear the sirens and think anything about it?? I knew immediately what was wrong, but she was completely clueless.

I felt so bad for her knowing what was going on and she didn't know.  Then the Kroons happened and I was just engrossed in the story. Holy Crap, I just...WOW.  What a story. I was still confused reading it, the main thing that stuck out to me was the fact that if her brother didn't tell her this story about the Kroons would the rest of it happen??

It's an okay story, engaging while you're reading it. The ending didn't make any sense, why not say ok maybe I was dreaming; but she refused to back down even when it meant she was going to get into trouble.

Enjoy while reading, he's an interesting author.

 Buy on Amazon                        Add to Goodreads

***FTC Rules require I state that I received this as a review copy from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review**** 

Review Copy Clean Up

RCC Challenge August 2012

Participation, guidelines:

✦ The challenge runs from 1 to 31 August, 2012
✦ Sign-ups are open until 15 August 2012. After that the linky list will be closed and participation in the challenges and giveaways won’t be possible for anyone who hasn’t previously signed up.
✦ To sign up, just fill in the linky form below. Link to your sign up post directly, please! The linky is the same for both our blogs, so you only have to sign up once.
✦ When you post your sign up post on your blog, either include the challenge button with your post or link it back to this article so that people know where to sign up. Thank you!
✦ Every book you received for review counts towards the challenge, both ebooks and hardback/paperback copies, including all genres and lengths.
✦ You don’t need to follow the two hosts in order to be able to sign up for the event (although it’s appreciated)
✦ Feel free to use the #RCCleanup hashtag on Twitter for your RCC related tweets or join in the Twitter party at http://tweetchat.com/room/RCCleanup and meet lots of lovely bloggers 

Well I so need to clean up this review pile, some of these books I have been dragging around on reading, Not even sure why. Here's my list of books to clean up, I have broken it down into three sections, and then I have the books that I have read that I need to post their reviews or links to their reveiws.   As well as link to the challenges.

Advanced Review Book List:

1. The Magickal Retreat ~ Susan Pesznecker
2. The Book of Madness & Cures ~ Regina O'Melveny
3. The City's Son ~ Tom Polluck 
4. The Reverend's Wife ~ Kimberly Lawson Roby
5. Where Lilacs still Bloom ~ Kirkpatrick
6. Magical States of Concousness ~ 
7. Everyday Witch book of rituals
8. Building projects for backyard farmers ~ 
9. change comes to dinner
10. Tarot Book ~ 
11. Initiate ~ Thuri Calafia
12. Seven day loan ~ tiffany reisz  ✔
13. from notting hill with love....actually ~ ali macnamara
14. rev it up ~ julie ann walker
15. savage hunger ~ terry spear
16. need ~ sherri hayes
17. the claiming of sleeping beauty ~ anne rice
18. Beauty's punishment ~ anne rice
19. beauty's release ~ anne rice
20. Cunningham's Magical Smapler ~ Cunningham
21. Consent to Love ~ Abby Wood  ✔
22. Improper Relations ~ juliana Ross  ✔
23. Seven Yeats to Sin ~ Slyvia Day ✔

Author Requests:

• Buddhist Meditation and The Internet ~ 
• Pretty Girls Don't Cry ~ Tony J Winn
• Falling Immoratlity ~ Robert Downs
• What Nurses Know ~ Wendy Cohan
• South Hill Sidekicks ~ Leah Speigel ✔

BEA  Arc Booklist:

1. Girl Fag ~ Janet Hardy
2. The Bridge ~ Jane Higgins
3. Impossible to Resist ~ Janice Maynard

Reviews to Post:

• Sharing Hailey  ✔
• Goddess in the Middle  ✔
• Dark Possession
• Dark slayer
• dark guardian
• strangers in paradise
• fantasy in death 
• kindred in death 
• julie garwood's book
• south hill sidekick's uninvited  ✔
• Seven Day Loan  ✔
• Improper Relations  ✔
• Consent to Love  ✔
• Seven Years to Sin ✔
• Scored

*all the books I have read so far that haven't been reviewed yet* 

So that's my list, I will be adding to it, as more books that need to be cleaned up and sent on their way come up. Wish me luck.
How are you doing on your challenges??? Share in the comments please

Book Review: Dark Magic

Book Title: Dark Magic
Author: Christine Feehan
Pages: 368
Publisher: Jove
Cost:$ 7.99
Rating:★★★★★
Erotica Rating: ★★★★☆
How I got it: From my personal library

Synopsis:

Young Savannah Dubrinsky was a mistress of illusion, a world-famous magician capable of mesmerizing millions. But there was one-Gregori, the Dark One-who held her in terrifying thrall. Whose cold silver eyes and heated sensuality sent shivers of danger, of desire, down her slender spine.With a dark magic all his own, Gregori-the implacable hunter, the legendary healer, the most powerful of Carpathian males-whispered in Savannah's mind that he was her destiny. That she had been born to save his immortal soul. And now, here in New Orleans, the hour had finally come to claim her. To make her completely his. In a ritual as old as time . . . and as inescapable as eternity.

My Review:

I'll admit, I read this book years ago, when it first came out, I have been a Feehan fan for years. Then I got way too absorbed with other things & stopped reading for a while. This year I decided to read more of the books I have unfinished on my shelves before buying the rest of those on my list. To truly understand Feehan's books I like to read the whole series before jumping into the newer ones. I like knowing the background of the characters, it adds something to the story.  Once again I picked up my favorite book from the series, because for me this is where the series really got good.  Unlike the female characters before who played at being strong, or self sufficient, Savannah actually did what was necessary to have her own life.  I'm not too fond of their first few moments as a couple together, but I guess it proves the story arc, that he almost waited too long.

The concept of the Carpathian race being different from the vampires, is pretty cool, it allows Ms Feehan to have her own world without making or breaking the "known" lore of the vampires.  She can create her own language, myths & legends; even their own rituals, with no one being able to say "Yay" or "nay".

Pros of the story: it's a very erotic romance between a man deeply ingrained in the Old World mentality, who becomes a little more modernized as he falls in love with Savannah.  Savannah is a strong character.  They 'realistically' build a relationship which is aided by finely honed instincts which gives them a greater advantage over our own human methods, yet doesn't prevent any of the fireworks that comes from building & melding two completely different lives.  & the love scenes are very steamy.  The characters although seemingly 'perfect" had their own faults & insecurities which they had to work on separately & together, which made the lvoe story even more appealing.

Cons of the story: Gregori sometimes borders or even actually does some 'caveman/chauvinistic" antics and we are to accept that this is okay because he is Carpathian and he loves her. O_O 

It only works because in everything else Gregori has had to be brought (with a little kicking involved) into the modern world of living with Savannah. I thoroughly enjoyed her schooling him on "modern" women, Very steamy, the story was very well written. I loved it I love to re-read this one when I'm bored reading 'regular' books. 

It's one of my favorite Carpathian books, and one I enjoy re-reading. I hope you will enjoy it too.
Be Blessed and Happy Reading

2011 Reading Challenge Progress Jan1, 2011- Dec 31, 2011

Here is the list of books I have read for  each Challenge:

SHOW ME THE FREE READING CHALLENGE"

         10/24 Books

1. Going All In by Jess Dee
2. Make Mine Midnight by AnneMarie McKenna
3. Rough Cut by Mari Carr
4. Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye
5. Slow Ride by Lorlelie James
6. The bite of Silence
7. Catching Caroline by Sylvia Day
8. Iron Dominance
9. Slow Ride
10. Long Hard Ride

"100+ READING CHALLENGE"

    95/100 Books

1. Going All In by Jess Dee  1/3/2011
2. Make Mine Midnight  1/6/2011
3. Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich 1/02/2011
4. Danger Zone by Sierra Cartwright 1/5/11
5. Rough Cut by Mari Carr 1/06/11
6. Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye 1/7/11
7. slow ride 1/7/11
8. Cowboy Double Decker  Reece Butler 1/8/11
9. The Bite of Silence 1/8
10. Catching Caroline 1/9
11. Morning light Catherine Anderson 1/10
12. Dragon's bait Vivan Vane Velde 1/9
13. Alpha's Mate  Leah Brooke 1/11
14. Hunger of the Wolf by Madeline Montague 1/14
15. Wolf by Madeline Montague 1/16
16. Double Jeopardy Rachel Bo 1/17
17. Key of Light Nora Roberts 1/21
18. Key of Valor Nora Roberts 1/22
19. Key of Knowledge Nora Roberts 1/21
20. total Recall Kaitlyn O'Connor 1/27
21. Abiogenesis Kaitlyn O'Connor 1/28
22. the secret circle the power  LJ Smith1/28
23. the secret circle the initiation LJ Smith 1/28
24. the secret circle the captive  LJ Smith1/28
25. Rules of Engagement Kaitlyn O'Connor 2/4
26. One two punch  Katie Allen2/10
27. Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen 2/11
28. Dangerous Boys and their Toy by Shayla Black 2/12
29. Stay with Me Maya Banks 2/15
30. Love's Fortress Samantha Kane 2/18
31. Shared by Lily Harlem 2/21
32. Last Lecture Randy Pauch 2/24/11
33. Tea for three by anne douglas 2/26/11
34. the boys back home 2/27
35. Longing for Kayla 3/1/11
36. strength of three by Annmarie McKenna 2/29
37. Surrender's Edge by Pepper Espinoza 3/5/11
38. Tainted love by Caitlin Willows 3/6/11
39. take me by Mackenzie Mckade 
40. deliah's downfall by melissa schoerder 3/7/11
41. Lions Woman 3/8/11
42. Home for the holidays 3/20/11
43. her boyfriend's boyfriend 3/17/11
44. Max's Fall Tielle St. Clare 3/25/11
45. they both belong to me by L. A. Day 3/26/11
46. Jackson's rise Tielle St. Clare 4/1/11
47. New year's kiss Tielle St clare 4/6/11
48. the forest lord Susan krinard 4/10/11
49. Meeting a Neighbor's Needs Qwillia Rain 4/11/11
50. A Neighbor's Ultimatum Qwilla Rain 4/13/11
51. The Kouvaris Marriage Diana Hamilton 4/15/11
52. Georgia Peach 05/27
53. Calista's Men Jory Strong 05/29
54. Retreat from Love 05/29
55. Made for two heroes 5/29/2011 
56. Spirits Shared by Jory Strong 6/1/2011
57. Kick Ass anthology ft Maggie Shayne, MaryJanice Davidson 6/2/2011
58. Calculating Drug Dosages by Sandra Castillo 6/2/2011
59. Calculation of Drug Doseages by Sheila J Ogden 06/02
60. Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary 
61. Davis' Drug Guide for Nurses 2011 06/01
62. Love Counts by Karen Percy 06/10
63. the Presence by Heather Graham 06/12
64. The Seance by Heather Graham 06/15
65. The Kouvaris Marriage by Diana Hamilton 06/18
66. The Greek's bought Wife by Helen Bianchin 06/20
67. Men Made in America Author's Choice by Elizabeth August 06/22
68. Bought by the Greek Tycoon by Jacqueline Baird 06/24
69. Mistress by Contract by Helen Bianchin 06/25
70. The Greek Tycoon's love child by Jacqueline Baird 06/27
71. Wife by Arrangement by Lucy Gordon 06/27
72. Her Italian Boss by Lynne Graham & Kim Lawrence 06/28
73. Maternal & Child health Nursing by Joyce Young Johnson 06/29
74. Maternity Nursing by Gloria Leifer 07/01
75. Angel and Outlaw by Madeline Baker 07/03
76. Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland 07/08
77. With Grace by Samantha Wayland 07/11
78. Prisoner of Love Samantha Kane 07/12
79. Forbidden Pleasure by Lora Leigh 07/12
80. Undercover Lauren Dane 07/15/2011
81. Too much of a good thing JJ Murray 07/17/2011
82. 101 Grreat Quickies by Laura Corn
83. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen 09/01/2011
84. Burn Linda Howard 09/11
85. Diamond Bay Linda Howard 09/09
86. Ice Linda Howard 09/15
87. Viel of Night Linda Howard 10/01
88. The Peach Keeper Sarah Addison Allen 09/28
89. Evelyn Vaughn Waiting for wolf moon 09/26
90. Mackenzie's Legacy Linda Howard 09/29
91. Prey Linda Howard 10/04
92. The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks 10/1
93. Our Man Friday 12/2011
94. A Gift of Gold
95. Iron Dominance- Cari Silverwood

"2011 EBOOK CHALLENGE "

50/50 Books

1. Danger Zone by Sierra Cartwright
2. Make Mine Midnight
3. Going All In
4. Rough Cut
5. Romeo, Romeo
6. slow ride
7. Cowboy double decker
8. the bite of silence
9. Catching caroline
10. Alpha's mate 
11. hunger of the wolf
12. wolf
13. total recall
14. abiogenesis
15. rules of engagement
16. one two punch
17. dangerous boys and their toy
18. Love's fortress
19. stay with me
20. shared
21. tea for three
22. the boys back home
23. strength of three
24. longing for Kayla
25. surrender's edge
26. tainted love
27. take me
28. Lion's Woman
29. max's fall
30. they both belong to me
31. Jackson's rise
32. New Years Kiss
33. Meeting a Neighbor's Needs
34. A Neighbor's Ultimatum
35. Retreat from Love
36. Georgia Peach
37. Made for two heroes
38. Calista's Men Jory Strong
39. Spirit's Shared by Jory Strong
40. Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland
41. With Grace by Samantha Wayland
42. Prisoner of Love Samantha Kane
43. A Gift of Gold
44. Holiday Love Lessons
45. Branded By Gold
46. Callie's Sexy Surprise
47. Home for the Holidays
48. Mrs.Robinson's Sons
49. Menage A Spies
50. Psychic Heat
51. Our Man friday
52. Iron Dominance Cari Silverwood

"2011 ICHALLENGE "

21/25 Books

1. the bite of silence (iVamp challenge)
2. Catching Caroline (iVamp)
3. Dragon's Bait (iFae)
4. Alpha's mate (iWere)
5. Hunger of the wolf (iWere)
6. Wolf (iWere)
7. Key of valor (iFae)
8. Key of Knowledge (iFae)
9. Key of Light (iFae)
10. The Secret Circle (iWitch)
11. The Secret Circle the Captive (iWitch)
12. The Secret Circle the Power (iWitch)
13. The Sugar Queen (iwitch)
14. Lion's Woman (Shifter)
15. Max's Fall (iWere)
16. Jackson's Rise (iWere)
17. New Year's Kiss (iWere)
18. the forest lord (iFae)
19. Spirts Shared by Jory Strong (iWere)
20. The Girl Who chased the Moon (iWitch)
21. The Peach keeper(iWitch)
22. It's Raining men(Shifter)
23. 
    

"Erotic Reading Challenge "  

20/20 Books

1. Going all in
2. Make Mine Midnight
3. Danger Zone
4. Rough Cut
5. Cowboy double decker
6. the bite of silence
7. alpha's mate
8. total recall
9. abiogenesis
10. Rules of engagement-Kaitlyn O'Conner
11. one two punch
12. Dangerous boys and their Toy
13. love's fortress
14. stay with me
15. shared
16. tea for three
17. The boys back home
18. Longing for Kayla
19. Max's fall
20. Home for the Holidays
21. Forbidden Pleasure- Lora Leigh
22. Undercover Lauren Dane
23. Prisoner of Love Samantha Kane
24. 101 Grreat Quickies by Laura Corn
25. A Gift of Gold- Ann Jacobs
26. Calista's Men Jory Strong
27. Destiny Calls- Samantha Wayland

"28 Day Yoga Challenge"

28/28 Days of Yoga

>

Day 1 Start of the Challenge

Day 2 Yoga Journal Challenge Start

Day 3 skipped

Day 4 shoveled snow

Day 5 core workout (day 3's work) 

Day 6 standing poses (day 4's workout)

Day 7 Hip openers( day 6's workout)

Day 8 evening workout (day 7's workout)
Day 9 Yogamazing hamstring Workout
Day 10 Morning Sequence (day 9s workout)

How Many of these have you read??

there is a post going around on facebook asking (yes i have nerdy friends) how many of these have you read so far, I believe it said something like only 10 of them have been read by people so i thought I would share and ask you to share either in the comments or in your own blog post just how many you have read. 


Being a teacher's daughter I have read 30 of these yes my summers included book reports which had to be well written and included a source page, and proper annotations. FUN FUN!!  I was THAT kid!!   I'm going to highlight the ones I have read and put the total on the bottom.  This year as part of my challenge list I will be attempting to knock as many of these 'classics' off, how many are you going to read? How will you stack up?

Blue means I have read them

Pride and Prejudice -
The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien -
 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - 
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling -
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee -
The Bible= 
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte -
Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell -
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman -
 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens -
 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott -
 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy –
 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller -
 Complete Works of Shakespeare -
 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier -
 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien -
 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk -
 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger -
 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger -
 Middlemarch - George Eliot -
 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell -
 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald -
 Bleak House - Charles Dickens -
 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy -
 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams -
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky -
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck -
 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll -
 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame -
 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy -
 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens -
 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis -
 Emma - Jane Austen -
 Persuasion - Jane Austen -
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis -
 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres -
 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden -
Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne - 
Animal Farm - George Orwell -
 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown -
 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez -
 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving -
 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins -
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - 
Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy -
 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood -
 Lord of the Flies - William Golding -
 Atonement - Ian McEwan -
 Life of Pi - Yann Martel -
 Dune - Frank Herbert -
 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons -
 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen -
 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth -
 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon -
 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens -
 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley -
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon -
 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez -
 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck -
 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov -
 The Secret History - Donna Tartt -
 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold -
Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas-
 On The Road - Jack Kerouac -
 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy -
 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding -
 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie –
 Moby Dick - Herman Melville -
 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens -
Dracula - Bram Stoker -
 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett -
 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson -
 Ulysses - James Joyce -
 The Inferno – Dante -
 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome -
 Germinal - Emile Zola -
 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray -
 Possession - AS Byatt –
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens -
 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell -
 The Color Purple - Alice Walker -  The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro -
 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert -
 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry -
 Charlotte’s Web - EB White -
 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom -
 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -
 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton -
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad -
 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery -
 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks -
Watership Down - Richard Adams -
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole -
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute -
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas -
Hamlet - William Shakespeare - 
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -
 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo -

total I have read: 30
Read in 2012:
Left to read:


Let's get NERDY!!!