A Perfect Ten Featuring Amanda from Chick Lit = The New Black

It's time for my new feature A Perfect Ten, where bloggers talk about their top ten favourite series of all time! Today I am being joined by Amanda from Chick Lit = The New Black. I just love the name of Amanda's blog and her blog button is just adorable! Her blog is a must read for all you lovers of Chick Lit out there. So here is Amanda's Perfect Ten...

Okay… so from this list of my top 10 series you’ll see how much of a girly girl I am. I love love, what can I say! Anyway, these are in no particular order. I’ve loved them all… and have read them all more than once. Enjoy! : )

Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts
The Bride Quartet follows the lives of four women, in their mid-late twenties, who have been best friends since childhood who now own a wedding planning business called Vows. The series has a perfect balance of fun, flirty and sexy… with just a touch of heart break along the way. Mackensie (photographer), Emma (florist), Laurel (baker) and Parker (the brains behind it all) have been so busy planning other couples perfect day that they haven’t had time for their own relationships…until now!

Hex Series by Linda WisdomThe Hex Series follows the lives of a group of witches who were expelled from the Witches Academy in 1313 because of a nasty curse one witch cast on a member of the royal family. Since this was the best class the academy has ever had they only gave the witches 100 years of banishment to the real world… 700 year and not one of them has returned. I normally don’t read books like this, but I really liked this series. Each witch has their own very different personalities that will have you cracking up with some, sighing at others and cheering the rest on. And who knew that witches have such great sex lives… haha!

Domestic Gods by Robyn Kaye
These books are about three siblings who are constantly being nagged by their very Italian mother about marriage and babies. (The fourth book is about two characters that you meet from the previous three books.) I loved the guys in this series… they were almost more emotional than the women. I suppose why the series is called Domestic Gods. My favorite parts from the series always came from the Italian family dinners, foods, and crazy Italian sayings.

Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers
You must have been living under a rock for the past 4 years if you don’t know what this series is about. Vampires, werewolves and one confused human girl. I was determined not to read this series until my friend made me watch the first movie… Needless to say, I was hooked and read the entire series in 4 days. I didn’t eat, sleep…nothing.

Lucky Harbor Series by Jill Shalvis
Three half-sisters have been brought together after the death of the hippy and never there mother. You’ve got the mouse, the steel magnolia and the wild child. These ladies may be very different from one another, but they have their mom and now a B&B in Lucky Harbor Washington in common. While each struggles with their past they must learn how to deal with the residents of Lucky Harbor and how to run a B&B all while getting along.

Dream Trilogy by Nora Roberts
In the Dream Trilogy you’ll find three women (and best friends since childhood); Margo- The maids daughter wanting fame and fortune, but really looking for her mother’s acceptance. Kate- The orphan cousin who’s ambition to succeed may lead to her downfall. And Laura- The Templeton heiress who’s ‘perfect’ marriage is now over and is left financially and emotionally broke. Each struggle with their past and rebuilding their lives without dipping into the Templeton fortune.

Donovan Brothers Brewery
If you’ve read a book by Victoria Dahl then I know you won’t be disappointed with this new series. Three siblings (Tessa, Jamie and Eric) have been left a brewery after their parents died in a car accident when Tessa and Jamie were still in high school. Now they are dealing with the effects of a break in that may be connected with the brewery’s very important potential client. Tessa is sassy, Jamie is uber sexy and Eric is the level headed older sibling in some serious need of a good time.

High Heeled Mysteries by Gemma Halliday
Maddie Springer is a fashion designer… of children’s shoes! The series starts off with Maddie acting as detective trying to find her boyfriend and discovers he may be into some shady stuff. While searching for her boyfriend Maddie keeps running into a real (and super hot) detective and he’s not very happy she’s trying to involve herself in his case. Each book in the series deals with a new case, but deals with the same crazy funny characters. I was definitely laughing out loud throughout this series and can’t wait until January for the 6th book!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Again, this wasn’t a series I was planning on ever reading, but after seeing the movie trailer for The Hunger Games and talking to a friend of mine (who loves the series) I decided to give in. I’m only on book two, but I have to admit that I love it. The whole idea of having children compete and fight to the death is ridiculous, but Suzanne Collins has a way of making the characters likeable and even route for some of them. Katniss is a very brave 16 year old girl and you just know things while turn out for her in the end.

Adventures of Darcy by Emily Giffin
Not sure if this is really considered a series, but I do! In my opinion, there’s just no way you can read Something Blue without reading Something Borrowed first. Rachel and Darcy have a very close friendship, but one drunken night turns the good girl into the traitor. Even with that going on you are routing for the good girl (Rachel) the entire time. In Something Blue you get a glimpse of Darcy’s side from Something Borrowed, but then move on to see how she completely changes her life around.

Thanks Amanda! I must admit to only having read two of these series - unsurprisingly the Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games. But I've now added some more books to my ever-growing TBR list! How about you? Have you read any of these series? Will you be adding any to your TBR list? Let Amanda and I know what you think!


If you are an author/blogger who would like to take part in this feature then please email me at onceuponaseries [at] live.co.uk.

It's Monday! What are you Reading? (5th December 2011)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey that gives us all a chance to list the books that we read last week and what we hope to read this week.

Books Completed:
Blood Magic by Jennifer Lyon (Wing Slayer #1)
The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan (Ranger's Apprentice #2)

Books Reviewed:
Touch of the Angel by Rosalie Lario (Demons of Infernum #3)
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall #1)
Blood Magic by Jennifer Lyon (Wing Slayer #1)

Books I'm Currently Reading:
Soul Magic (Wing Slayer #2)

Books Up Next:
Grave Witch by Kalayna Price (Alex Craft #1)
Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro (Hellsbane #1)

Series of the Week: Fallen Angels by J.R. Ward

Each Sunday I will be highlighting a series that I have been wanting to read for a while, and that I hope to read very soon! This week my pick is the Fallen Angels series by J.R. Ward. I am going through a big paranormal romance phase at the moment and I do love angels! So this seems like the perfect series for me!

Have you read this series? Let me know what you thought!

Covet
Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about-his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart-and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

Crave
The battle between good and evil has left the future of humanity in the hands of a reluctant savior and his band of fallen angels. Seven deadly sins that must be righted. Seven souls that must be saved.

While his first task was success, Jim Heron is battling a demon that can take any form for the soul of someone he must identify on his own. If that weren't enough, his old boss Matthias wants Jim to assassinate an AWOL member of The Firm - Isaac, the man Jim is pretty sure he is supposed to save. Jim knows first hand that once you're in The Firm, there's no getting out. But when Jim finds Isaac to warn him, he has been picked up by the police for illegal street fighting, and it is clear that Isaac is falling for his gorgeous public defender. Is their love the redemption that will save Isaac's soul? Or has the demon Devina set an elaborate trap?

Envy
As the son of a serial killer, homicide detective Thomas 'Veck' DelVecchio, Jr., grew up in the shadow of evil. Now, on the knife-edge between civic duty and blind retribution, he atones for the sins of his father - while fighting his inner demons. Assigned to monitor Veck is Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly, whose interest in him is both professional and arousingly personal. And Veck and Sophia have another link: Jim Heron, a mysterious stranger with too many answers...to questions that are deadly. When Veck and Sophia are drawn into the ultimate battle between good and evil, their fallen angel savior is the only thing that stands between them and eternal damnation.

Review: Blood Magic by Jennifer Lyon (Wing Slayer #1)

Publisher - Rouge Romance
Publication Date - 29th September 2011
Genre - Paranormal Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it!

Book Info - Darcy MacAlister knows nothing of demons or magic. But this beautiful young woman is about to discover that she is a witch and the key to breaking the curse that has plagued witches and the men who hunt them. For if a Wing Slayer Hunter kills an innocent witch by mistake, the price is no less than a piece of his soul.

Axel Locke, gorgeous leader of the Wing Slayer Hunters, has sworn never to shed the blood of the earth witches who have resisted the temptation of demonic power. But when his sister is cursed by a demon witch, he discovers that Darcy MacAlister may hold the cure – if she can master her newfound powers in time.

My Thoughts - I haven't really read any fiction surrounding witches before so the mythology and background used in this book was all a completely new concept to me - which was very refreshing! The descriptions of how the magic is used is very vivid and it was easy to imagine myself alongside Darcy as she is learning how to use the powers that are inside her.

I really liked Darcy as a main character. She is an earth witch who has been brought up in a mortal family who knew nothing of her heritage. Therefore she has always felt different from everybody around her and she has always longed to find a place where she belongs. Despite all of this, she isn't a whiny heroine - she knows instinctively what she needs to do to help Axel and his family and she gets on with it without a second thought.

Axel was also a very likeable character. I fell in love with him when I realised just what lengths he was willing to go to in order to keep his family safe from the demon witches curse. And he is a complex character - a big strong man who is willing to kill to protect others, who also plays tea parties with his 5 year-old sister. Surely that is enough to melt any woman's heart! He knows exactly what his role is in life - to protect others - and he will not back down from that for a second, despite the curse that was placed on the Wing Slayer Hunters decades ago. This curse means that he lusts after the blood of witches, and up until now he has avoided them at all cost to ensure he wouldn't lose control. But when he has to be around Darcy to help her break the curse on his baby sister, he works hard to control himself as his first instinct is always to protect.

The storyline was an original one which had some good twists to keep the reader guessing at what was going to happen. And the romance between Darcy and Axel was sizzling! My only complaint about Blood Magic (and the one thing stopping me from giving it five stars) was the huge amounts of background information that are dumped on the reader periodically through the novel. There was so much information about the history of earth witches, demon witches, Wing Slayer Hunters, rogue hunters and so on that at times I found it really hard to get my head around it all. I could see that it was all vital information, and it did help to enrich the story, but it was just too much at a time for my liking and I would often have to go and re-read pages of it to make sure all the history was clear in my head.

Summary - A very enjoyable start to a series that holds a lot of potential. I am very excited to read book two, Soul Magic, and I look forward to seeing what is in store for the other Wing Slayer Hunters.

Other books in the series:
1. Blood Magic
2. Soul Magic
3. Night Magic
4. Sinful Magic
5. Forbidden Magic

Other reviews of this book:
Book Binge / Good Choice Reading / Romance Reviews Today

Follow Friday #11

Hi all and welcome to Follow Friday!

This is a great feature hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read and I am very excited to be taking part today.

Every week participants have to answer a question so that we can all get to know each other a little better. This week's question is:

What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!


Hmm, now let me think about this. I think the one thing that really gets to me is insta-love in YA fiction. I just can't get my head around how two teenage characters can fall in love the second they meet and know they will be together forever. I know that in a book things have to happen quite quickly but this just doesn't feel realistic to me.


Oh, and although I absolutely loved Twilight a couple of years ago when I read the books, I have since developed a hate of 100 year old vampires falling for 17 year old girls. That is just too creepy! Doesn't bother me so much in adult PNR books when the woman is, well, a woman. But for the love interest to be only seventeen is a little disturbing in my opinion!


Don't be shy. Let me know if you've found me through Follow Friday today and I'll come and return the favour!