In anticipation of the release of Lover Mine by J. R. Ward, Decadence has updated the Black Dagger Brotherhood cheat sheets. The cheat sheets sum up what we know so far about the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover Mine is out in hardback (US) and will be released in paperback (UK, Australia) on May 6. For all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo, click here.

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Butch O’Neal aka Dhestroyer, descended of Wrath, son of Wrath, aka Brian O’Neal

The defining moment of Butch’s life was the day he saw his 15-year old sister Janie get into a car with a group of boys and didn’t tell his parents she was breaking the rules. She was later found raped and murdered. Up to that point, Butch had been treated differently to the rest of the family and frequently beaten by his father, but since then he was blamed for what happened to Janie and virtually ostracised. He was twelve years old. (more)

In anticipation of the release of Lover Mine by J. R. Ward, Decadence has updated the Black Dagger Brotherhood cheat sheets. The cheat sheets sum up what we know so far about the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover Mine is out in hardback (US) and will be released in paperback (UK, Australia) on May 6. For all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo, click here.

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Zsadist, son of Ahgony

Zsadist, the firstborn son of Ahgony and the Chosen Naseen, was kidnapped by his nanny when he was seven months, and after the nanny’s death he was sold into slavery. After his transition changed him into a large, powerful looking male, his mistress kept him in a cell ready to be used for blood and sex and even shared him with other males.

It took his twin Phury a century to find and rescue him, but their escape via the ocean sealed a scar on Z’s face. He later added body piercings, possibly because he liked the pain (more)

In anticipation of the release of Lover Mine by J. R. Ward, Decadence has updated the Black Dagger Brotherhood cheat sheets. The cheat sheets sum up what we know so far about the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover Mine is out in hardback (US) today and in paperback (UK, Australia) on May 6. For all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo, click here.

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Rhage, son of Tohrture

In the years immediately following his transition, Rhage was extremely cocky and went wherever his mood took him. He got drunk, did drugs, fought a lot, and had a nasty habit of sleeping with other males’ shellans. He became interested in a female who didn’t want him until he joined the Brotherhood, so he showed off his weapons and his gun went off in her hand, killing a barn owl.

The Scribe Virgin considered this a special offence as she loves birds (more)

In anticipation of the release of Lover Mine by J. R. Ward, Decadence has updated the Black Dagger Brotherhood cheat sheets. The cheat sheets sum up what we know so far about the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover Mine is out in hardback (US) on April 27 and in paperback (UK, Australia) on May 6. For all BDB-related posts on Book Thingo, click here.

The Scribe Virgin and her single act of creation

We’re not sure exactly who the Scribe Virgin is, other than the mother of the vampire race. Her father (don’t know who he is either) gifted her with a single act of creation, which she used to create a race of beings who:

• cannot walk in the sun
• must drink the blood of a member of the opposite sex within the race (to supplement a standard human food and drink diet)
• live for almost 1000 years (more)

In anticipation of the next book in J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Decadence has been hard at work updating the ever popular BDB cheat sheets. The cheat sheets summarise what we know so far about the Brothers and their world, based on the books already published.

We’ll be republishing the updated cheat sheets over the next two weeks, starting Monday. I’ve also created a page summarising all BDB-related posts on this blog. (more)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 2)

Although not as good as The Hunger Games, this book is still an excellent read and has only whetted my appetite for more.

If there’s one thing about about Suzanne Collins, it’s that she can spin a good yarn. Catching Fire is the sequel to Collins’s bestselling novel, The Hunger Games, which I found to be a great read—a bit shallow on the character development but excellent in plot development.

Catching Fire follows on from the ending of The Hunger Games and it’s not a standalone book. A few months have passed since Katniss returned home as a victor in The Hunger Games, and she’s trying to manage the consequences of her actions at the games.

She and fellow District 12 winner, Peeta, are due to start their Victory Tour, and she intends to pretend that she’s madly in love with Peeta, hoping to appease the Capitol—the central governement—that their act of rebellion in the games was due to love. (more)

The Family Farm by Fiona Palmer

The Family Farm’s blurb shows promise, but a slow plot and lacklustre romance make for a rather dull read.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I’m always on the lookout for good outback romances and at first glance The Family Farm fits the bill.

Isabelle Simpson returns to the family farm, eager to help her parents and show her father that she’s more than capable of managing the farm. But her father is convinced that farm life is too harsh for his remaining daughter, and this causes some conflict between then. When her father is hospitalised indefinitely, Isabelle surreptitiously takes over managing the farm.

Her father thinks their neighbour, Will Timmins, is in charge. For years Isabelle has blamed Will for her sister’s death, but gradually she learns the truth behind her sister’s tragedy and she discovers that Will has changed from the skirt-chasing prankster she knew as a child. (more)

Love Bites by Lynsay Sands (Argeneau Vampire, Book 2)

This guest review is courtesy of Buttercup, a self-confessed Lynsay Sands fan.

The story begins rather bleakly in a morgue where our hero, Etienne Argeneau, is lying on a metal table about to be examined by our heroine, coroner Rachel Garrett. She is feeling a little puzzled at her attraction for the good looking, but dead, guy. She feels even more puzzled when the corpse starts talking to her.

Etienne is not in fact dead—he is a vampire with a bullet in his chest. Unfortunately for Rachel, whoever killed Etienne follows him to the morgue and she is caught in the crossfire, and is mortally wounded. Etienne wakes up just in time and saves Rachel from death by biting her. This turns out to be a great sacrifice on Etienne’s part as vampires are bound by law to turn only one human in his lifetime, an honour usually reserved for a possible mate. He brings Rachel home and takes care of her while she is transitioning, and takes a softly, slowly approach in introducing Rachel to the world of vampires. Sometimes with hilarious results… (more)

First of all, a big congratulations to the winner of our Covet giveaway … *drumroll* … angela! To win, Angela had to tell us her deadliest sin, and this was her comment:

Greed…for we are all greedy to some extent but my greed extends from clothes to stationary to bags and especially books. I’ve been collecting books since i was 12, after feeling an intrinsic connection to the world of literature. My aim? To buy a house with rooms that can act as my bookshelf for my sizeable collection.

I think I’m guilty of that sin, too. Angela, your book is in the mail!

Moving on … I got this idea from Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader (formerly Reading Adventures). Dymocks recently conducted a survey of Australia’s favourite books, and here’s the top 101 list, annotated with my thoughts.

1 The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer – read books 1 (reviewed) and 2 (more)

Heartless by Tasma Walton

This fable about following your heart works wonders as a palate cleanser when you’re in the reading doldrums.

Yes, I bought Heartless because Tasma Walton is married to Rove and I saw her interview plugging the book. I also loved the cover and the blurb: ‘about the power of the human heart, the worthiness of its desires and the often dire consequences of ignoring them.’

I finally picked up Heartless after going through a bit of a reading slogfest, and it was perfect timing. I read it in less than a day and was left enchanted by Walton’s narrative voice.

The heroine, who narrates her story in the first person, is never named in the book. Her story unfolds as snapshots of her life every seven years. At seven, she has ‘a big, loud, red, dancing heart’, and it’s impossible not to be charmed by this exuberant, quirky girl with an imaginary friend and an irrepressible spirit.

But it’s not long before her heart endures the first of many sorrows. (more)