Wednesday Reads and Surgery Update

I had planned on posting this last Wednesday, but my access to the internet was brief and, plus, I forgot. Haha! Here’s what I read the past two weeks:

Book #55

Dates read: October 22-26
Title: “The Magic Root”
Year of publication: 2017
Author: T.S. Hottle
Genre: Sci-Fi Space Opera
Series: The Compact Universe #1
# of Pages: 65
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: Kai is the governor of Essenar, a prison planet that's also a rainy, acidic hell. Along comes an alien with a plant that could solve all his problems. He calls it a "potato." When the potato fails, the alien and a general Kai doesn't like offer a more drastic solution to his problems: But is this alien trying to start a war? And why?
My thoughts: I love sci-fi, but not necessarily in book form (I have a hard time picturing strange things, but love seeing them on the screen!). However, because I was curious what my friend wrote, and since this was a novella, I felt it would be okay to give sci-fi another try. Yeah, I think I just need to stay away from this genre (it got a little too confusing for me). But if you enjoy space opera sci-fi, give this one a try. You’ll probably get it more than I did (oh, and he has lots more books out there, too!).

Book #56

Dates read: October 26 – November 3
Title: “Mortal Sin”
Year of publication: 2014
Author: Allison Brennan
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Seven Deadly Sins #3
# of Pages: 426
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: Four months ago, a black magic coven summoned the Seven Deadly Sins from hell then quickly lost control. Former witch Moira O’Donnell and her lover, ex-seminarian Rafe Cooper, captured two of the demons, but the remaining five Sins disappeared. Now, whoever gets near the demons becomes infected with an insidious urge to act out on their deadliest sin—with horrific results.
    Moira will do anything to find and imprison the remaining demons. Unfortunately, there’s no rulebook to follow, only her gut instincts … and they’re telling her something is very wrong in Santa Louisa, the small California town where the demons were first released. Fights are breaking out day and night, friends are turning on friends, and the jails are full. She wants to stay and help Sheriff Skye McPherson find the cause of the violence, but when a demon hunter goes missing while pursuing one of the Seven, Moira’s the only one who can find him.
    While Moira is tracking one demon in Canada, Rafe and Skye battle another in Santa Louisa. With every victory comes many more defeats, and Moira quickly realizes that someone—or something—doesn’t want her to return to Santa Louisa. The body count rises, demonic hot spots pop up throughout the world, and the people closest to Moira are in the most danger. When one of their own succumbs to one of the Sins, Moira fears they’re too late … and the end of the world is already here.
My thoughts: I was happy to see another book in this series, because I wasn’t sure Allison would finish it (her publisher wasn’t interested, so she had to self-pub this one). I got confused a little (probably because it had been too long since I read the last one--so yeah, you'd want to read these books in order), but I still enjoyed the story because I really liked all the characters. It did end on a small cliff-hanger (grrr), which kind of surprised me because I didn’t think there’d be any more books in this series. So maybe there will! I do enjoy the series.

Book #57

Dates read: November 4
Title: “Love Voodoo”
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Alyssa Breck
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: N/A
# of Pages: 52
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: After a chance tarot card reading in a New Orleans voodoo shop, vampire Luca is intrigued by Collette, an alluring woman with an uncanny intuition. Getting intimately involved with a human is the last thing Luca has in mind, but Collette wins his trust and their friendship grows into something deeper. When Luca’s clan learns that he has asked Collette to perform a spell to bind his psychotic sire, a deadly chain of events unravels that will change their lives.
My thoughts: I was looking for a paranormal romance and the blurb drew me in. It was just what I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it was a novella when I bought it (B&N really should show “pages” for their Nook books), so when I started reading it, figured it probably wasn’t what I was in the mood for. It’s a very well written book, so that made me happy. Still…it just felt rushed, probably because I was looking for something deeper. It’s a very sexy book, though, and I did like the characters. If you’re looking for a new paranormal author, this is a good book to try out.

Surgery went much better on Monday than the first one did (lighter anesthesia), but started way later than I expected. Got there at 11:30, but didn’t get wheeled into surgery until after 5. I was released by 8:30, though, and very hungry (since my last meal was 24 hours earlier). I’m sore today, but not as bad as last time (only one cut vs. the two I had last time). I don’t see my oncologist until the 27th, so I won’t have any more news to share until after then. Thanks for all your well-wishes. It’s much appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Stacy