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Into the Wilderness comes to an end with The Endless Forest

I just finished reading the 6th and final volume of Sara Donati's Into the Wilderness Series. After the difficult to read 5th book, Queen of Swords, I have to admit I was a little afraid The Endless Forest was going to be a drag. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly this book read. It was a great way to have the lives of the characters I fell in love with five books ago come to completion. We get to experience the children and grand children of the main characters, Elizabeth and Nathaniel, come into their own and create their own happiness. We also get to see how the problems of the past (i.e. Jemima) come to an end. The Epilogue brought tears to my eyes in a very satifying way. So if like me, you had a hard time with Queen of Swords, I ask you to give The Endless Forest a chance. It is worth the leap of faith.

J.R. Ward is amazing!

After reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series I was convinced that J.R. Ward was definitely in my Top 3 favorite authors. I have just finished the first book in her next series - Covet A Novel of the Fallen Angels, and she has officially been moved up to my number one spot! She this incredible ability to implant the preternatural world right into the real world and make it seem totally normal and plausible. The imagery created by her words create a movie in your mind of what's happening. She also has this way of holding you in suspense and then spring a twist on you out of no where. So many other authors, make their foreshadowing really obvious and then you know what is going to be the outcome of the story. However, Ward manages to slip in the absolute right innuendos that give nothing away at first but once you put them all together you have the outcome in front of you. Another very cool aspect of the two series' is that they are interconnected without being a repeat of the same stories. They both take place in the same town - Caldwell, NY - at the same time. So there are some of the same characters, but so far it is only minor characters from the Black Dagger books play major rolls in the Fallen Angel series. I am waiting, so very impatiently, for the next Black Dagger Book - Lover Mine - to come out in late April, 2010. And even more impatiently, I am awaiting the announcement of the release of the next in Fallen Angel Series. Especially, since she has fully set it up for at least 6 more books, because each will focus on one of the 7 deadly sins. You can visit J.R. Ward's personal website at www.jrward.com . You can purchase the book new on Amazon or you can put it on your wish list on PaperBackSwap.
 Have you read these books? Which was your favorite?

Ahh Sookie Sookie

Okay if you haven't jumped on the True Blood bandwagon it is time to take the leap. It is sort of like Twilight for Grown-ups! Charlaine Harris has created an incredible world in which Vampires exist in plain sight. The Sookie Stackhouse series has got it all - romance, adventure, mystery, magic, paranormal, sex, violence, and humor. You may have also heard it called "The Southern Vampire" Series. Harris has spun a web so intricate that you will get sucked in (pun intended) within the first few chapters of the first book. The first book - Dead Until Dark - starts with the public announcement that Vampires really do live among us. And with each new book in the series you are faced with a new and exciting adventure filled with twists and turns that you never see coming. There are power struggles, love affairs, murders, and just general weirdness throughout the books. You will soon find out that in Harris' reality - all those things that go bump in the night really exist too. She include Weres, Witches, Goblins, Telepaths and menagerie of other creatures that are all just living right next do to the rest of us. And all throughout the books are some incredibly delicious love scenes and quite the love triangle (or pentagon at one point!).
And to top it off the series has been turned into a Cable TV Show on HBO called True Blood! It is cleverly done - to not follow the books to the tee but rather used it as a guideline. And the casting department at HBO did a great job of capturing all the main characters (with the exception of Tara who is two very different people from book to screen). If you enjoy the paranormal romance genre you will love the Sookie Stackhouse Books by Charlaine Harris. It is certainly a staple for all of the paranormal fans.
Here are the books in reading order:

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Dead in the Family - Due out May 2010

And don't forget A Touch of Dead - a collection of all the Sookie Short Stories that have been in various Anthologies over the years. You can buy the first 8 books in a Boxed Set from Amazon.
You can learn more about Charlaine Harris and her other series' at http://www.charlaineharris.com/. So which Sookie Book is your favorite? Mine was Dead and Gone, I just can't wait till the next one comes out. And I am happy to report that Harris has confirmed that the Sookie Series is far from done!