Beautiful cover for new Mortal Instruments release!!

Even though The Twilight Saga is my absolute favorite YA paranormal series, I know that there are other great series out there.  The Night World books, by L.J. Smith,  are also on my list of favorites for instance.  I have read the first installment in Lauren Kate's Fallen series, and hope to read the second one, Torment, soon.  So I include this series on my list, too.

There's another series I want to get into, and that's the best-selling Mortal Instruments series.  I own all the books that have come out so far -- I just need to read them! 

While browsing my list of book blogs, I discovered that the fourth book in the series is now out!  The cover has already been released, and is posted on some of these blogs.  The Mortal Instruments series is particularly noted for its absolutely beautiful covers, and this latest one is no exception!  The artist's name is Cliff Neilson.  Kudos to him!  I decided I just had to post his awesome new cover here!

The release date for this book is April 5, 2011, and of course, I'll have my credit card ready in my eager little bookworm's hands!!  So that means I've got to get started on the other books, as soon as the new year arrives!   

For those who have already read the other books in the series, you can read an excerpt from the fourth book here.

For those who are still unfamiliar with the books, here's a short summary of the first one, City of Bones, taken from one of my favorite book sites -- Goodreads!

"This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end."

For complete plot summaries of all four books, I refer my readers directly to the Wikipedia article on the series. 

HAPPY READING TO ALL!!! 

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a holiday rich with traditions; in fact, no other holiday can compete with it in this respect. It is a fascinating mixture of Christian and pagan customs, so much so that, like intertwined threads in a multicolored tapestry, they can no longer be separated, although many devout Christians insist that the real reason for the holiday is the birth of Jesus Christ, and everything else is commercialized, pagan, and therefore superfluous.

The birth of Our Savior is, indeed, the fundamental reason for this holiday. Yet, the traditions that have become attached to the celebration of Christmas make it what it is today – a beautiful, joyful time of light, love, and peace.  Christmas traditions cannot and should not be done away with, for they give this holiday its distinctive style, which is strongly appealing at various levels of the human psyche, not the least of which is the emotional one.

The one basic theme of all of these traditions is that of loving relationship with God and one’s fellow human beings. The legend of Santa Claus, for example, is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, who gave gifts to poor children at Christmastime. Christmas trees blaze with lights and glittery ornaments, reminding us of the light of goodness that shines in the midst of the winter darkness. Mistletoe has long been used as an excuse to kiss that special person one loves, or would like to get to know better….

These traditions and customs also serve to remind us that the Christmas season is a time of miracles. If there really is no physical Santa Claus, still, the Christmas spirit is alive and well. It can move someone to make an anonymous donation where it’s most needed. An embittered veteran of a horrible marriage can suddenly encounter a new love, a new beginning. We can even entertain angels unaware…

Books are also, of course, an integral part of Christmas, especially such classics as Dickens’s A ChristmasCarol, as well as the story “The Gift of the Magi”,  by O’Henry. One of my own Christmas traditions, which I’m sure I share with many readers, is that of reading Christmas romances. If there’s anything truly magical in this world, it’s the magic of love, which can transform people and situations almost overnight. So, last year as well as this year, I went on a little shopping spree for such books, buying a couple of book lots on eBay, for instance. I have plenty of them now, so I need not fear that I’ll run out of romantic holiday material!

I especially enjoy Regency Christmas romances and paranormal Christmas romances. I recently reviewed the first installment of a series of three Silhouette Nocturne romances, dealing with Christmas and vampires, and am almost done reading the second.

Mary Balogh, my all-time favorite romance writer, has a number of absolutely beautiful Regency Christmas romances. One of them, which I read last year, is titled A Christmas Bride. I really should revisit it so that I can review it.

Another very nice Christmas read is A Magical Christmas Present, a paranormal anthology that I also read last year.

I’m currently reading another paranormal anthology, titled A Dreamspun Christmas, which I will soon be reviewing. This book was published back in the 1990’s, and it was one of my eBay acquisitions. As an inveterate book addict, I’m always buying books that attract me, with the intention of reading them at some time in the future…. So, this year, I went through my treasured collection of Christmas romances, and picked out this one. It’s not the only one I want to read, naturally. There will be more following! Give me plenty of romance at Christmastime!

Here are five other books I would like to investigate, as well.  Two of them deal with the central place of Jesus in the celebration of Christmas, while the other three are about the traditions associated with the season.

The first one, by Lawrence Driskill, is titled Christmas Stories from Around the World: Honoring Jesus in Many Lands. 

The next one, by Ann Christian Buchananan and Debra Klingsporn, is illustrated by Thomas Kinkade, and is titled Christ, the Light of the World: Celebrating the Glory of Christmas.



This one deals with the pagan customs that have become an integral part of the holiday.  It's titled, aptly enough, Pagan Christmas, and was written by Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling.  It is lavishly illustrated.



This one deals with the evolution of the holiday in the United States.  The title is Merry Christmas! Celebrating America's Greatest Holiday, and its author is Karal Ann Marling, who is a noted art historian.

This is a decorating book, with loads of beautiful pictures of Christmas trees and other holiday decorations.  It's authored by Debi Staron and Bob Pranga, together known as "Dr. Christmas".  The title is Christmas Style.

Ah, Christmas! The wreath is on the door, the tree is twinkling with lights and several types of ornaments, Christmas carols are sofly playing in the background, and I’m all curled up with my magical Christmas romance book, sipping some eggnog, although there is no blazing Yule log in my non-existent chimney, and no snow outside. This is Florida, and all we get is a bit of cold and rain…

“MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!”

Supernatural Sundays Meme: Hale & Salvatore Must Reads

Supernatural Sundays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Hale and Salvatore Supernatural Must Reads. To join in, just do the following:

Grab your current 'supernatural' read, and find your 2 favorite quotes of your favorite character in the novel. Secondly, look for a photo on the internet, who you think most resembles the character of your choosing.

And finally, post it!

*****************

Well, I don't really need to look on the Internet.  My favorite character's face is right on the cover!  His name is Gabriel, and, of course, he's a vampire -- a very, very sweet, tender one, too.  The book is titled Embrace the Night , and was written by Amanda Ashley.

FAVORITE QUOTES

"I won't hurt you, cara.  Believe that.  And if you can't believe my words,

then look inside my mind and see the truth for yourself."

Gabriel

"Once you are truly mine, I will never let you go."

Gabriel

I actually have two copies of this book, because I suddenly got the urge to re-read it one day, but had no idea where it was.  That's how many books I have!  So, I went ahead and bought another one on eBay.  I wanted to have this edition, too, because the new one has a very ugly cover, and, of course, Gabriel (or rather, the model who portrays him) doesn't appear on it. 

I've been meaning to write a review of this book, but just haven't gotten around to doing so.  So many books to review!  I really like Amanda Ashley's vampire novels, though.  The vampires in them are always so sweet to the human women they fall in love with! 

Book Review: Star Bright! A Christmas Story

Star Bright! A Christmas Story
Author: Andrew M. Greeley
Mass Market Paperback, 208 pages
Published November 1, 2004, by Forge Books
(first published 1997)
Genre: Christmas romance

What a delightful introduction to the work of Andrew Greeley this novel is!  It’s magical, mystical, tender, and humorously romantic.

The magic comes from the heroine, the unusual and gifted Odessa Tatiana Alekseevna.   Her besotted boyfriend, who narrates their story, deftly makes her come alive for the reader; she is a luminous beauty, a highly talented artist, and a mystic who is on very intimate terms with God.  

Jack Flanigan is an Irish-American Catholic boy.  Tatiana is Russian Orthodox, born in Russia.  Greeley not only highlights their cultural differences, but delves into their religious ones as well, through their funny dialogues.  I found myself chuckling at several points.  Still, Tatiana comes off as a very spiritual, shy person.  Jack, on the other hand, portrays himself as a somewhat inept, rough-around-the-edges Irishman, but the reader knows he does not see himself very accurately.    

With the pretext of perfecting his already perfect Russian, he starts meeting her at a certain Harvard campus bench every day.   He also watches her interacting with children who also sometimes meet her at the same bench.  He is delighted to discover that Tatiana is a storyteller of the first order.

Jack’s growing relationship with Tatiana is also contrasted with the one he has with his endearingly dysfunctional family.   One day, the idea is born: he will take her home with him, to spend Christmas with the Flanigans.  Tatiana’s parents are gone, after all, and she is all alone in the U.S.  Furthermore, she has no other relatives back in Russia.

The resulting interactions of Jack’s family with the young mystic are not only hilarious, but touching and sweet as well.  Odessa charms them all, and Jack is even more in love with her.  She transforms his normally contentious family into a group of people who actually begin to enjoy the beauty and holiness of the Christmas season.  Because of her, they grow closer to God, as well as each other.

The book concludes with hints that “Ivan the Wonderful” (“Ivan” is the equivalent of “John” in Russian) and “Aunt Tati” are destined to live a very long and happy life together.

This novel gave me what I was looking for – a spiritual lift, a glowing feeling of joy, hope, love and warmth.  Isn’t this what the Christmas season is all about?  Greeley communicated this message more effectively than he could possibly have done through a sermon at Midnight Mass!

Book Review: Holiday With a Vampire

Holiday With A Vampire: Christmas Cravings/Fate Calls

Authors: Maureen Child, Caridad Pineiro

Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Published December 1, 2007, by Silhouette/Harlequin
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampire Romance, Christmas Romance

OVERALL RATING:



Usually, I find novels much more appealing than short stories, since there’s ample attention devoted to character development, world-building, and so forth.  However, I also enjoy treating myself to the short literary form, especially in the case of romance, whether paranormal or not.

This book, the first in a series dealing with Christmas and vampires, contains two stories, as do the subsequent two volumes.  The idea of combining the undead with the holy, joyful season of Christmas is a fascinating one.  I prepared myself to be delighted.

The first story, “Christmas Cravings”, by Maureen Child, certainly gave me the desired effect.  The hero, Grayson Stone, craves love, and still grieves for the family, as well as the humanity, he lost one Christmas Eve, at the hands of a brutal vampire.  He meets Tessa Franklin, a human woman on the run from an abusive stalker.  

Although I did think a couple of things in this story were a bit contrived, overall, it successfully combined the poignant vampire longing for normality with the peace, love and beauty of the Christmas season.  Yes, the love story was a bit rushed, but still, quite satisfactory.  Furthermore, the ending, in which a true Christmas miracle takes place, had me in tears.  

It’s too bad this story was not published by itself.  I give it the following rating:

What followed next, titled “Fate Calls”, by Caridad Pineiro, was a terrible disappointment.   

In sharp contrast to the first story, this one had only a smidgen of the true Christmas spirit, and even that was marred by very graphic depictions of sex, which included some bondage, that totally disgusted me.  Yes, the heroine volunteers to stand at a mall corner, dressed as Santa Claus, ringing a bell to collect donations for the poor.  However, the vampire she meets, Hadrian, is a jaded, cynical creature who not only actively dislikes Christmas, but Christians, as well.  The author has vampires being persecuted by Emperor Constantine’s “sun worshippers” (in other words, Christians) in ancient Rome. 

In spite of “the happy ending”, which is very forced, this story did not give me any warm, fuzzy feelings   The Christmas spirit?  Hardly there.  Love and romance?  Very dubiously depicted. 

I give it the following rating:

Unfortunately, the editor who combined these two very different stories did not show much discernment.  The second story brings down my overall rating for the book to only two stars.