The Akamai Reader

Throwback Thursday (5) July 26, 2012

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Title: The Devil You Know

Author: Mike Carey

Publication Date: July 10, 2007

From Goodreads: Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghost buster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle–but there’s a risk: Sooner or later he’s going to take on a spirit that’s too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London – just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That’s OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It’s the living who piss him off…

I can’t remember how I found this series but am I glad I did. It has shades of Jim Butcher in it without being a total rip-off. It’s got style, it’s got punch. It’s got fantastic plotlines. I love everything about this series!

Felix Castor is a complex, multi-layered character that is both tortured and driven with an unwavering moral compass that would do Superman proud. At the same time he’s still human with flaws which means he does make decisions which means he finds himself inside the gray area.

I’ve read the first two or three books of the series. I plan on reading the rest very shortly. I’m really looking forward to it!

Throwback Thursday (4) July 19, 2012

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Title: The Good, The Bad, The Undead

Author: Kim Harrison

Original Publication Date: February, 2005

From Goodreads: It’s a tough life for witch Rachel Morgan, sexy, independent bounty hunter, prowling the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati for criminal creatures of the night.

She can handle the leather-clad vamps and even tangle with a cunning demon or two. But a serial killer who feeds on the experts in the most dangerous kind of black magic is definitely pressing the limits.

Confronting an ancient, implacable evil is more than just child’s play – and this time, Rachel will be lucky to escape with her very soul.

I’m going to have to be honest with you, I last read this book in 2008 and frankly that feels like forever ago! I don’t remember much about it. I do remember I enjoyed it. I was going through a hard time in my life and I turned to Kim and Rachel to see me through. So while I couldn’t retain the memory of what I read, I do retain the good feelings it brought me.

What I do know, is that this second book of Rachel Morgan’s is much better then the first book. The first book was very much a set-up book and the action was sparse. I think this book got off to a slow start too, but when it did get started it got off with a bang!

I’m anxious to reread this series, but with my mammoth TBR pile I’m not sure when I’ll get a chance. So many books! So little time!

Throwback Thursdays (3) July 5, 2012

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Title: Bitten

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Plume

Publication Date: June 29, 2010 (Reprint; First published September 25, 2001)

ISBN-10: 0452296641

Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble

From Goodreads: 

Elena Michaels seems like the typically strong and sexy modern woman, She lives with her architect boyfriend, writes for a popular newspaper, and works out at the gym. She’s also a werewolf.

Elena has done all she can to assimilate to the human world, but the man whose bite changed her existence forever, and his legacy, continue to haunt her. Thrown into a desperate war for survival that tests her allegiance to a secret clan of werewolves, Elena must recon with who, and what, she is in this passionate, page-turning novel.

I first read this book in 2008 and fell in love with Elena and Clay. I’m not sure why I stopped reading this series. I keep meaning to get back into it but something keeps me from it for some reason or another. I’m never sure if I should reread the series from the beginning or if I should just pick up where I left off.

I didn’t really like how the books didn’t stick with Elena and Clay. Not that I didn’t like the other characters in the subsequent books. I just wasn’t as crazy about them like I was over Elena and Clay. They’re cameos were a poor substitute for a good solid book about them. Maybe that’s why my enthusiasm for the series waned.

Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to the series one day since Armstrong is wrapping it up. I can only hope.

Throwback Thursday (2) June 28, 2012

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Title: Guilty Pleasures

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton

Publisher: Jove

Publication Date: September 24, 2002

ISBN-10: 051513449X

Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble

From Goodreads: Anita Blake may be small and young, but vampires call her the Executioner. Anita is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law—as long as they don’t get too nasty. Now someone’s killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees—with a bit of vampiric arm-twisting—to help figure out who and why.

Trust is a luxury Anita can’t afford when her allies aren’t human. The city’s most powerful vampire, Nikolaos, is 1,000 years old and looks like a 10-year-old girl. The second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude, is interested in more than just Anita’s professional talents, but the feisty necromancer isn’t playing along—yet. This popular series has a wild energy and humor, and some very appealing characters—both dead and alive.

Guilty Pleasures was one of the books when Anita Blake and co. were still mysterious and not gorging on orgies. It was the first Paranormal Romance series I ever got interested in. I tried to hang onto the series as long as I could but it just got too much for me. Anita became too much of a slut and I couldn’t take it anymore. I still look back on the series fondly though.

In the beginning of the series, she was everything you would want in a lead girl. Anita was independent and spunky. Plus she could seriously kick ass! And Jean Claude? Jean Claude was everything you could want in a lead man. He was sexy, mysterious, and debonair. They made a dynamic couple.

The early books of this series are definitely worth your time, if you’re into vampire hunting fun!