The Dream Hunter - Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dream Hunter #1)

The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the ethereal world of dreams, there are champions who fight to protect the dreamer and there are demons who prey on them... 

Arik is such a predator. Condemned by the gods to live eternity without emotions, Arik can only feel when he's in the dreams of others. For thousands of years, he's drifted through the human unconscious, searching for sensation. Now he's finally found a dreamer whose vivid mind can fill his emptiness.

Dr. Megeara Kafieri watched her father ruin himself and his reputation as he searched to prove Atlantis was real. Her deathbed promise to him to salvage his reputation has now brought her to Greece where she intends to prove once and for all that the fabled island is right where her father said it was. But frustration and bad luck dog her every step. Especially the day they find a stranger floating in the sea. His is a face she's seen many times.... in her dreams. 

What she doesn't know is that Arik holds more than the ancient secrets that can help her find the mythical isle of Atlantis. He has made a pact with the god Hades: In exchange for two weeks as a mortal man, he must return to Olympus with a human soul. Megeara's soul. 

With a secret society out to ruin her expedition, and mysterious accidents that keep threatening her life, Megeara refuses to quit. She knows she's getting closer to Atlantis and as she does, she stumbles onto the truth of what Arik really is.

For Arik his quest is no longer simple. No human can know of a Dream-Hunter's existence. His dream of being mortal has quickly turned into his own nightmare and the only way to save himself will be to sacrifice the very thing he wanted to be human for. The only question is, will he?

Originally, my plan was to skip all the Dream Hunter stories because of all the not-so-encouraging reviews about them. A lot said they were decent stories but nowhere near as good as Were-Hunter or Dark Hunter novels. I read this one because I wanted to give the Dream-Hunters a shot before completely forgetting about them.

This book gave me a deeper understanding of what Dream-Hunters are and the part they play in the world of SK. The curse that was cast on them stated that they were no longer supposed to experience emotions. This led to some of them going renegade and siphoning off too much from humans who dream vividly during their sleep. I don't feel like Dream-Hunters have enough pain or torment, unlike their, Dark-Hunter or Were-Hunter brethren. Maybe this is the reason why most people think that Dream-Hunter books aren't as strongly written.

Arik was an ok character. He didn't stand out to me. Megeara's character had promise but again, I think she could have been written a lot better. I can't even comment on their love story for the lack thereof. There were characters that I did like. Solin seems to me is going to be an interesting read. I want to know more about him. And of course, fifteen year old Tory. I've been prepping myself for when I finally read Acheron. I'm so excited I feel like I've speed read through the other books. Speaking of Acheron, the final chapter was actually a good way to tie things up to what readers have read through the earlier books.

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Sins of the Night — Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark-Hunter #8)

Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the realm of the Dark-Hunters there is a code of honor that even immortal bad boys must follow:

Harm no human. Drink no blood. Never fall in love.

But every now and again a Dark-Hunter thinks himself above the Code. That's when I'm summoned. Who am I? I'm the one thing the fearless fear. Step over the line and it's my wrath you will face. Nothing can touch me. Nothing can sway me. I am relentless and unfeeling.

Or so I thought until I met a female Dark-Hunter who goes by the name of Danger-it's not just her name, it's how she lives her life. She doesn't trust me at all. And who could blame her? She alone knows that I'm here to be judge, jury and most likely executioner of her friends. Yet she is my key to saving some of them. Without her, they all will die.

Dangereuse St. Richard is a deadly distraction. Something about her is reawakening a heart I thought was long dead. But in a race against evil, the only hope mankind has is that I do my duty. And how can I do my duty when it means that I will have to sacrifice the only woman I've ever loved?



                                     
It took me a while (a very long while) before i finally finished Sins of the Night. The story took place in Mississippi, so it was kinda like breather from all the crazy happenings in New Orleans. Dangereuse is the first woman Dark Hunter to have a HEA. I didn't love her as much as I did with the other heroines I have read of so far though.

The Alexion, I did find as a likable character. I just had a good deal of confusion on whether he was supposed to be a being who didn't feel any emotion. There were definitely moments when he felt the emotions of an average human and yet he didn't find that surprising. Sure he assumes human form from time to time to act as judge, jury & executioner to rogue Dark Hunters, but wasn't the last time he was corporeal like years and years ago? Even then, I still found him likable because of one very important reason

he had gifted all Dark Hunters with an out clause. It was a heartbreaking story when Ias/Alexion was betrayed by his wife. But, as Ash would always say "We learn from our pain". If not for that necessary pain, he wouldn't have immortality with his true love and we can kiss all those lovely couples we've read of goodbye.

I personally vote that all Dark Hunters to pay tribute to Alexion at least once in their immortal life.

My reaction:
when i read about the dark hunter rebellion and the theories about Ash
when Ash saves the day (deus ex machina i know, but still):
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Dance with the Devil -- Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark-Hunter #4)

Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Zarek's Point of View:

Dark-Hunter: A soulless guardian who stands between mankind and those who would see mankind destroyed. Yeah, right. The only part of that Code of Honor I got was eternity and solitude.

Insanity: A condition many say I suffer from after being alone for so long. But I don't suffer from my insanity-I enjoy every minute of it.

Trust: I can't trust anyone...not even myself. The only thing I trust in is my ability to do the wrong thing in any situation and to hurt anyone who gets in my way.

Truth: I endured a lifetime as a Roman slave, and 900 years as an exiled Dark-Hunter. Now I'm tired of enduring. I want the truth about what happened the night I was exiled-I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Astrid (Greek, meaning star): An exceptional woman who can see straight to the truth. Brave and strong, she is a point of light in the darkness. She touches me and I tremble. She smiles and my cold heart shatters.

Zarek: They say even the most damned man can be forgiven. I never believed that until the night Astrid opened her door to me and made this feral beast want to be human again. Made me want to love and be loved. But how can an ex-slave whose soul is owned by a Greek goddess ever dream of touching, let alone holding, a fiery star?

When I read about Zarek in the first few books in the series, I told myself that this character is so hateful.....I think I love him!
Zarek, Zarek, Zarek, you had the most terrible time when you were alive and when you finally became a dark hunter, the world still gave you more lemons than you can possibly handle. The physical beatings did not really affect me much. But the scene where he was going to buy bread totally broke my heart. I weep for you, Zarek.
I've never been happier for a fictional character who finally got his HEA more than I did for this Greek.On the other hand, I think Astrid could have been written better. Not that I'm complaining but, her character sort of lacked some "oomph" to convince me that she tamed the wild animal.
Overall, I had fun reading this book. Since the first DH book that I read, I've personally made it my goal to read as fast as I can so I can finally get to Acheron's story. So cheers to me! 8 or 9 books to go!
My reaction
while reading about Zarek's life:


whenever it's a Simi moment:



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A Quick Bite -- Lynsay Sands (Argeneau #1)

A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

About 20-30 pages or so, I decided to put my misery to an end.
The writing just didn't appeal to me. Every paragraph, I find myself cringing literally at how weird and poorly things are developing.
It was supposed to be a funny read. But all I ever did was raise a questioning eyebrow as I pushed myself to read.


As I write this I don't know if I can continue reading this or try to kindle my interest by reading other books from this series. If you're someone who likes reading alpha males and feisty heroines, look away because I don't think this is the book for you.


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Just the Sexiest Man Alive -- Julie James

No woman could resist him—except the one he wanted most...

Cool, Calm, Collected...

Nothing fazes Taylor Donovan. In the courtroom she never lets the opposition see her sweat. In her personal life, she never lets any man rattle her—not even her cheating ex-fiancé. So when she's assigned to coach People's "Sexiest Man Alive" for his role in his next big legal thriller, she refuses to fall for the Hollywood heartthrob's charms. Even if he is the Jason Andrews.

Confident, Famous, Irresistible...

Jason Andrews is used to having women fall at his feet. When Taylor Donovan gives him the cold shoulder, he's thrown for a loop. She's unlike any other woman he's ever met: uninterested in the limelight, seemingly immune to his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him. She's the perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to realize she may just be his perfect match
Summary c/o Goodreads

Finally succumbed to the pressure of reading JTSMA. I think I might have had this book under my to read list for 2012. But Alas! 2012 was my year for PNR/Urban fantasy series. This is the first book from the author Julie James that I had the pleasure of reading. The story line was simple but hats off to the her for her witty writing. You've got to admit that at least once in every girl/woman's life, she must have dreamed of movie stars as their knight in shinning armor who will whisk them away from their bleary existence; or as the dashing prince charming that will lead her to her happily ever after.

I had the most fun reading this book. It was light, it was funny and everything a chicklit ought to be. Suffice to say that I intend to read more titles from this author.


My general reaction while reading:



RATING:

2012 Book Challenge Update

I'm quite embarrassed of the status of my reading challenge this year. If anyone has checked my goodreads account, you might have noticed that last year I challenged myself to read 50 BOOKS! . That's like one book per week. Though I would generally describe myself as an avid reader, completing my challenge didn't come easy. I got caught up with human activities like work and socializing with other people, those kind of stuff.

I did finish it. So, hurray for me! Last year I picked up a short paperback on speed reading to improve my skill. Other than books, I have plenty of reading to do at work so it was really to my advantage.

Onward to the topic at hand, this year I was so engrossed in watching Korean dramas that I literally finished full series in, give or take, 2-3 days time (more on Korean drama and everything korean in another post). With that and my utter lack of enthusiasm to pick up new titles, I decided to forgo my reading challenge for this year. But since I have a fickle mind (so they say) and lack of anything to do, I decided to read for leisure purposes.

Since I started late and I am not too ambitious, my reading challenge for this year is to finish 20 books.

[caption id="attachment_60" align="aligncenter" width="253"] Look how pretty these book covers are![/caption]
All of the titles belong to YA genre, though. I'm thinking of reading something not YA for my next book.

Suggestions anyone??