Brunner's Bar

The Night Season This is one of those series that I keep in my back catalog. It's the kind of book you read when there isn't anything else you want to read and you need a filler. The first book Heartsick was really good and it was my first Advanced Reader copy I had ever gotten. The story was really good and I liked the characters. As the series has gone on I have sort of fallen out of love with these books yet I keep going. This is the first book in the series that doesn't have the main villain Gretchen Lowell. The other three had both her and the detective Archie Sheridan. In this book people are being killed in an odd way. All the signs from the bodies show that they have drowned but there is no water in the lungs. What can be killing people to make them drown on land? It was an interesting story but overall the book was just ok. I was one that I at least found interest to keep going on and it really wasn''t a chore to get through I just felt very  ben

Fury of the Seventh Son This is it, the end of a great series. The ending could have been a little stronger but I was pleased with how well this wrapped up. From what I have read Joseph Delaney is starting a new trilogy with Tom that I am quite anxious to get a hold of.  As this is the last book in a series of 13 books there is little I can say without ruining the story for someone who hasn't read it, but I will try. Tom has come a long way in his training with the Spook and he has been working solo on random jobs around the county as the spook gets up in age. Tom has worked hard to prepare himself to face the Fiend and keep him from coming back to power.  This was a good book, not the explosive amazing ending I was hoping for but still hard to put down. I have read a lot of books and quite a few series so there was a level of expectation I had with how this was to end. Once I heard there was another trilogy beginning I started to wonder if this was half wrap up and

A New Beginning Reading this I was a little confused at first. The book opens with a group of people we have never met before so I was wondering what happened to Rick and the group we have followed for 21 volumes. When we finally get to Rick and what is going on he is a completely different man. Clearly some time has passed since we left Rick and the Gang in Vol 21. I googled it and found a Wiki page that said it has been two years between the events of Vol 21 and 22. That made more sense but at the same time I kept wondering why skip so much time. Surely something interesting had to happen in those two years.  Everything seems to be going all nice and dreamy in the colony now that rules and trade have been established. Rick has finally accepted his role as leader even though he fought it for so long. Our group has gotten pretty good at surviving in this new world to the point of herding the Walkers like cattle to help drive them away from their home. When I think the book i

I am Alice After coming off the disappointing previous book in the series Slither , I was looking forward to getting back the the main characters. Little did I know at first that Tom wouldn't really have much of a role in this book either. However, I really didn't mind because I really like Alice and wanted to know more about her journey into the Dark. When last we left Tom and Alice in  Lure of the Dead, Alice had to find a way into the dark and steal a weapon that is hidden at the base of the Fiend's very own throne. This book follows Alice on that journey as well as give the reader an insight into what all is going on in her head. These weapons will be used to kill her in a sacrifice to end the Fiend once and for all. On top of that we get to see a character from an earlier book that I thought I wouldn't see again.  This book was very well written and was interesting from the very beginning. There didn't seem to be  any down time or long pause betw

Nightwing Vol 2 The Court of Owls was one of the best Batman stories I have ever read and the fact that this spilled over into the Nightwing universe was even better. We get to learn all kinds of great secrets about Dick and his family in the past. There are a few references to the events that happen in the Batman books so you might be a little lost if you haven't read them but the story in this collection was really well written.  Not only do we get more of the Court of Owls story line but we get a new group growing in power in Nightwing's neck of the woods and these people hate all things with a mask. Nightwing has been framed for murder and now he has to deal with the Court of Owls and a new group hunting him down and their leader Paragon. This may start with the court of Owls but a new story line takes over the rest of the book and it was a good one. I can't wait to see what happens next.  The story was great and so was the artwork. I actually borrowed th

Last year was my first year participating in this survey and I loved it. This is put together by   The Perpetual Page Turner's End of Year Survey.  I found this on a friend's blog and had to fill it out for myself, now I hope to make this my own annual post here.  Number Of Books You Read: Last year I read 103 books, most of those were either Graphic novels or Audio books but I count them Number of Re-Reads: I had 1 maybe 2 re-reads this past year. I re-read The Strain because of the first season of the show, and I sort of re-read NOS4A2 also. I read it and made it almost half way through when it first came out but then gave up. I actually started it over last year and finished it so its half a re-read. Genre You Read The Most From: I would say Comics, and probably Horror but most of the books considered horror were  disappointing .    1. Best Book You Read In 2014? This is a toss up for me, either Skin Collector by Jeffery Deaver or The Drop by Mi

My Worst of 2014 You have read my best of post and with the good comes the bad. I was very fortunate this year in the books I chose. I didn't have many horrible books this year that I forced myself to finish. Only 2 of the books I read this past year I rated at 1 star. I am pretty impressed by this because I usually have quite a few more. Now I didn't rate these one star but I will say I was less than thrilled with these series. I read the Strain trilogy this year because I really enjoyed the first season of FX's new show. For as entertaining as the series on TV is the books left me bored and wanting more for the most part. The first book was actually a re-read for me. I didn't care for it the first time but wanted to see if my opinion might change now that I watched the show. I did enjoy the book a little more, enough to see what the other two books in the series were all about. I kind of wish now that I wouldn't have read the other two. They just got duller

My Goals and my picks for the best of 2014!!! Every New Year people make resolutions. Usuall something to make them a better person or to loose a few pounds, or just be happier. I am no stranger to these, I've put on a few pounds that I would like to try and get rid of this year. This blog is about my bookshelf and the things I want to review so I do have a goal or two about reading I would like to accomplish. Goals: This year I got some great books for Christmas and the one I didn't get I plan on buying as soon as I can. With that being said my to-read pile is growing like crazy so I am going to set some time aside to read at home more. My daughter is now 1 and a half and when my son was little my wife and I read him some grown up books. My wife read the Chronicles of Narnia to him, and I read him the Hobbit, the first Lord of the Rings book, and a few of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books. Of course he didn't get these stories which is great because we w

And the Race is on!!! Today is the beginning of Bout of Books 12. I have some steep goals for just a week but I always like to push myself during these weeks. Whatever I get finished this week for the challenge.  Goals: Since I don't get a lot of time to read the actual books I have most of my goals will be Audio related. I am anxious to finish the Last Apprentice series and I am already working my way through book 12 "I am Alice", My hope is to finish this one and at least start the final book in the series, "Fury of the Seventh Son. My wife and I also just picked up the most recent graphic novel in the Walking Dead series Vol 22: A New Beginning which I want to get read this week.       I have also been working towards finishing Mr Mercedes which I have ion hard cover. I at least want to make a dent in this book this week. I know I won't finish it this week but I want to set some time aside to get back into this book.  Good Luck to

Happy New Year everyone!!! What a year it has been. Last year was a challenge and I had high hopes for 2014. After a very rocky start and some personal hurdles things started to look up. I was fortunate enough to find a permanent home at my new company that allowed me to quit my old job where I was miserable and go down to just one job instead of two. Now I work for a company I love and believe in and I have never been happier in a job. My family and I have been doing well this year. Being able to have one job that makes me happy has allowed me to be home more often and spend really quality time with my kids and my wife. My parents and even my grandparents have seen a big change in my personality now that things have changed for the better. My blog has been going strong for a year and a half now and I am excited to see what 2015 brings. My wife has been encouraging me to post my writing here. As I have said in the past, my dream is to be a writer, and author who can write these