The Beauty of Darkness (Remnant Chronicles #3) by

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Date Finished: December 15, 2016

The last book in a series is always a completely different beast from all the other books because it has to somehow wrap up everything that has happened throughout the series in a satisfying way and that is surprisingly hard to do. I try to reasonable when it comes to last books, but at the same time there are so many amazing series that rock the last book, is that really so much to ask?

And while this book was a pretty good conclusion for the series, there were still some things that I felt were lacking. 

One of those things was the relationship between Lia and Rafe. They kind of ignore the real world while they are crossing the plains and somehow imagine that their love will overcome all politics no matter what. Only to return to civilization and crack within the first few days. She won't change, he tries to cage her, and then when he finally decides to let her go and save her country, even though he provides his support, its at the cost of the relationship. There was no, hey come find me when you're done. It was, if you do this then we're over. Then when he comes to her rescue he's engaged to someone else. And then it isn't until everything is over that they finally decide to make it work. But here's the problem. She's the queen of one country, He's the king of another, and yet no one has any intention of uniting the kingdoms and yet in the last scene they say that they are going to make it work no matter what.

So, let's imagine that for a second. Let's say they chose to get married, or just be lovers if they so choose, without uniting the kingdoms. Both kingdoms are still going to need an heir. Maybe she chooses an heir from among the people, but Rafe will still need an heir. So, does he have an heir with someone from his kingdom or does their child become his heir. Does that then mean that any of their children will be raised with him. Will they spend six months in each country or only live exclusively in the kingdom they will rule? And on and on it goes. There are so many complications that them saying they were going to make it work sounded more like an empty promise to me than anything else. Saying they will work things out just covers up the fact that logistically there is no good way to work it out without one of their kingdoms suffering. 

I will say that I was very happy with how things ended with Kaden. For a while I was worried they would try to complicate the love triangle again but I feel like that worked out the way the author played that all out.

The other thing that left me wanting more was the ending with the Komizar. There was all this build up and then when the big confrontation finally happens there is absolutely no confrontation. He is pushed over the edge of a cliff and that's the end of it. There is no struggle, no fight beforehand, no desperation, nothing. Just, oh no there's the Komizar, oh, and now it's over. 

And yet, despite these things that frustrated me, there were also plenty of things that I liked. Lia really comes into her own and learns to have confidence. She saves her kingdom, and in doing so saves all the other too. So, even though I wasn't fully satisfied, it was still a good book, and a good ending.

Magic Binds (Kate Daniels #9) by Ilona Andrews

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: October 18, 2016

I originally came into the Kate Daniels series very reluctantly and was skeptical that I would enjoy it. And yet, despite the romance section which I tend to avoid, I found myself really drawn in by the characters. There are very few series that I will keep reading this long (or at least keep enjoying). If I don't give up by book 2 or 3, I will sometimes continue but not enjoy the books as much. This series, on the other hand, has always done a good job of maintaining.

Now, after everything that has happened in this book comes the inevitable show down with her father. And while this is just one battle it what will most likely prove to be a long war, if they lose this battle it's game over. 

It all starts when Kate it showed a vision of the two possibilities for the war. In one version Curran dies, and in another, their son dies. And so Kate is desperate to make sure that neither one of those happen. 

For the most part Kate continues to be her same old self but the people she care about begin to doubt her. Mostly her ability to control her powers rather than letting them control her. And so, in order to learn to control her powers she does a crazy thing and resurrects her aunt. Granted, her aunt is only resurrected in spirit form but let's be honest, no one is overly happy to see her again. But she is able to convince her aunt to help and begins training to control her powers.

Now, I will say that there is a lot more planning and talking in this book than actual fighting so it can get a bit slow at times. And my only other complaint is that the ending of the battle seemed to be a little too easy. Now, I will admit that there was lots of planning that went into it and they had allies that her father couldn't have planned for, but her father is so much stronger than her and in the end he could have used his power to just flatten all of them instead of fleeing. Again, I understand the factors that affected that decision and I understand that this was just one battle of a long war but I just expected a little bit more from her father.

Either way in the end they are able to save the city and Kate and Curran finally get married. There are definitely some interesting things coming up for the next book and I must say I am interested to see a pregnant Kate because for some reason I don't see her being the glowing, cheerful type of pregnant woman. And I'm sure Curran's protective side with definitely cause some interesting relationship issues. 

And on a bit of a side note, can I just say that I am really excited about Christopher! He was always kind of a fun, quirky side character but now that he is whole again, I just can't wait to see that all play out!!!

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Overall Stars: 3.5 stars

Date Finished: October 16, 2016

I was a little nervous going into this series because I was disappointed with the Grisha series and so I found myself very reluctant to pick up this series. It says that it takes place in the same world at the Grisha series but doesn't really explain a whole lot beyond that. I found myself expecting (as with any other spin off) to run into the same characters from the previous series and I just didn't like that series enough to want to continue with the same characters. And I also didn't like the characterization of the some of the characters in the original series so I found myself expecting the same issues here.

And boy was I glad to be wrong! This book has everything that the Grisha series was missing.  It was fast paced and had enjoyable, gritty, complicated characters that all made the ride so much more exciting. 

I enjoyed all of the characters which was surprising. With such a mix of characters I expected some issues there but the reality is that they were all well-written. Each one had their jaded past and their darkness they were struggling with. and each of the characters continued to develop as the story progressed. I also thought that I would get tired of all the POV changes. And while I will say that it does change quite a bit, I did feel like each character added something different so I was actually okay with most of the changes.

I was a little disappointed with the ending. First was the way things ended with Kaz and "Ghost". Kaz had been progressing throughout the book and I was frustrated but his unwillingness to take that one last step to prove himself to her. 

Also, Kaz was always one step ahead and so I was really excited for some surprise reveal at the end showing how awesome Kaz is and how he planned for all of the contingencies, but alas it was not to be. I can see how this would be necessary for the plot and continuing the series but it was a disappointment from the person who had been such a dynamic, intelligent character to fail so epically at the end.

But overall, this was a very good book and I look forward to the next book in the series!

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Date Finished: October 2, 2016

Yes, Yes, Yes! I will say that I have been very reluctant to start this book. With so much having been resolved in the last book and the description I was just so worried that this book was going to become bogged down in negotiating and talking and overall just be fairly boring. And at the beginning when they are setting up the meeting with the leaders that's what it really seemed like I was getting. There's power struggles, blah blah blah, and I was preparing myself for boring court intrigue. And then being true to herself Aelin doesn't just sit still, she takes off and starts wreaking havoc. And boy was that fun to read.

So, the gist of the story is that when Aelin returns to claim her throne, her country refuses her. And boy was that frustrating. After everything she’s done to get to this point, to have her own countrymen turn her away was a huge blow. And they hint that the only way she could ever be useful to her country is through political marriage. (GRR!!!!) I will admit that I really wanted to Aelin to just tear them a new one then and there, but I also knew that there was no way she could do that and still make it work.

So now, Aelin has to go and get some allies, which is starting to look pretty impossible.

There are a lot of different POV’s throughout the book and for the most part it was enjoyable to see the different perspectives and how it all starts to come together. I will admit that at the beginning some one of the perspectives seemed quite boring and irrelevant but in the end it all came together to give the book more depth.

And more than anything I have to say that I enjoyed the fact the Aelin was her same old arrogant, chaotic queen-self. She wrought havoc and spilt blood and fought tooth and nail for her allies. And as we near the end of the book it just appears impossible that things will work out.

And while I don’t want to give too much away, let me just say, THAT ENDING!!!

At the end you just keep waiting for someone to say, just kidding, and yet, despite all of the crazy twists and turns, Aelin planned for all of it and everyone is left reeling by her pure awesomeness with everything she managed to bring together in the end. It is definitely not the end, there is still a lot to be done, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised that this series keeps living up to my expectations.

On a side note, I will say that there were some graphic sex scenes that were pretty unnecessary. People are hooking up and that's fine, it's part of the plot and I liked most of the pairing, but we went from some spattered heavy kissing or just sex references to all of the sudden everyone having graphic sex. Plot romances all you want but there's no need for it to become graphic now, after everything. It just kind of felt like the author experimented with this in her other series and now feels like she has to throw it in everywhere. I'm more interested in the plot than details. So can we please skip some of that next time?

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Date Finished: September 22, 2016

Very few sequels live up to the first book in a series. For that same reason, I am always reluctant to start a second book in a series because there’s just no way it can live up to the first one and so many fail horribly. Now, I still found the first book more exciting but this book definitely lived up to what I was expecting of the series.

This book picks up where the other one left off. Elias and Laia are running for this lives and Helene must reluctantly hunt them down.

One of things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it was so dark and real. Too often in books like these miraculous things happen and all the main characters comes out on top and they somehow manage to save everyone they love against all days. And yet, reality is so much darker. Especially in an Empire like the one they are running from, with a cruel Empire leading them.

Helene struggles to come to terms with her love for Elias and her loyalty to the Empire. She plots and plans and yet every time she tries to come out on top she fails and in the end, she pays for it in unimaginable ways.

Elias is trying to come to terms with his imminent death. He was poisoned by his mother and knows that no matter what he does his end is drawing near. And while there were some frustrating decisions, for the most is was all consistent with his character. Despite it all, throughout it all he never gives up and never stops fighting.

Laia is the one that really frustrated me in the book. She is falling in love with Elias. And then her friend from the rebellion shows up and she starts to change. She was such a strong, fierce character and she burns so brightly, and yet she lets undermine her. After Elias leaves she allows him to cause her to be weak, to doubt herself and her gifts and her power to change the world. And the whole while that he is treating her so cruelly, she allows herself to live him. Now, in hindsight, I can see how this needed to happen plot wise but it was so frustrating to see Laia waste away into someone who was barely recognizable from the first book. Despite that she fights back and in the end they are able to accomplish the impossible. I just hope that this whole process brings us a stronger, fiercer Laia for the next book.

There is lots of ups and downs in this book. Some joy and lots of heartache. There is intrigue and plotting and fighting and action. The characters were inspiring and overall the book was just outright enjoyable. For the first time in a long time I actually find myself looking forward to the third book!

Greta and the Goblin King (Mylena Chronicles #1) by Chloe Jacobs

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Date Finished: September, 21, 2016

This is a loose retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Greta (aka Gretel) and her younger brother (not named hansel by the way) are lured into a witches trap by the smell of gingerbread. But instead of teaming together to throw the witch into the fire, Greta saves her brother from the fire only to fall in herself. The fire turns out to be a portal into another world called Mylena.

There were a couple frustrations that I had. The first being that it feels like you start out the book having missed a couple chapters. Greta's angsty relationship with the dark Goblin king, Isaac, is already in full swing. While the author summarizes what happened in the past two weeks it wasn't enough. I wanted to read that first meeting in the bar, that first dream and everything after, not just get random hints here and there. Greta's hot and cold act with Isaac got real old. I get that this is all part of a typical YA relationship but it kept going throughout almost the entire book.

And despite that I still kind of like Greta as a character and then the author goes and throws in a completely unnecessary love triangle.

Wyatt is the human love interest and was a great character until they threw in the love interest. He was great with the younger boys and a great leader and then the supposed romance changes it. To me, that ruined all of it. He somehow fell in love with her in two days, so much in love that he would give anything for her and can't stop thinking about her. And that of course has nothing to do with the fact that Greta is the first girl he's seen in years. And now that is going to complicate the next book because Greta's rejection will cause a wedge and blah, blah, and I'm already seeing the next book going downhill.

And then when things start to get tough, Greta keeps almost dying. Now, to be fair, she almost died at the beginning of the book as well, which puts in to question how good she really is. And I also understand that she is just a human against supernatural creatures and she is trying to protect this group of kids, but she keeps failing. Over and over. I mean, she is saved by little kids who don’t even know who to fight. I could get having a couple hard fights where she gets badly injured but I felt like she was getting badly injured every time she tried to fight, and that just made it harder to see her as the tough as nails hunter she is supposed to be.

It wasn't a bad read but not very original and I'm a bit doubtful about the rest of the series.

Hope and Red (Empire of Storms #1) by Jon Skovron

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars

Date Finished: September 20, 2016

When I read that this was a combination of pirates and samurai I was both intrigued and doubtful that it could be pulled off well. It’s hard to find a good Samurai book at all, yet alone one with pirates mixed in.

This story follows our two main characters, Red and Hope.

Hope is the only survivor of deadly experimentation performed on her village. She is taken in by Monk warriors and the leader secretly trains her in the art of fighting. He is killed for teaching a female and she escapes with the goal of exacting her revenge. In the mean time she works as security on a ship.

Red is a rare survivor of a drug addicted mother and is marked by the drug with red eyes. He spends some time living life as a pirate (really just a couple of months) and mostly gets by as a thief in the ghetto.

Now, while the Samurai part of this book is showed through Hope, Red really isn’t a pirate for very long and is not until the end of the book that the whole pirate thing becomes a big part of the book, and that is really more hinting at what we will see in the next book, not so much what you see in this book.

That being said, I really enjoyed the characters in the book. Red is such a great character and I loved his comments and humor. Hope was definitely more closed off but I also enjoyed seeing how she started to open up around Red.

The thing that I will say, is that I felt like there was too much going on. At first all of the action is great and amazing and you’re just soo excited to get things underway, but then it never really ends. The fight in the ghetto was a big deal in and of itself. I figured that there would a big fight for the ghetto, they would win and then things would wrap up and the rest would be left for the next book. But it just continues almost nonstop. You have the tracking, the fight in the rich neighborhood, the flight to the docks, the chase over the sea, and then the big fight at the end of the book. And you also have a few different POV’s thrown in there as well. Now, all of that was well written and enjoyable but at one point I just kind of wanted the author to get to the point.

Now, having reached the end if became obvious that most of that was necessary in order to gather together all of the crew that they would need to take on the Empire in the next book, and it all makes sense in hindsight, but while reading I found myself just wanting the author to finally wrap things up.

I wasn’t too happy with how the ending separated Red and Hope and it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the next book because Red was my favorite character and I don’t know if it will be the same if he is unrecognizable after all the alterations. 

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Date Finished: August 7, 2016

 

I admit that upon reading the book summary, I wasn’t overly excited for this book. And then I read a review that said this was basically a female Vlad the Impaler! And suddenly I couldn’t wait to pick it up. One of my biggest complaints with most YA is the weak female leads and this promised a dark, cruel, and strong female lead.

And that is definitely what it delivered. Lada was strong and cruel and dark and she came to despise her role of a woman in a man’s world. She fights tooth and nail for any bit of power and freedom she can get. And in doing so, she ends up pushing away the people that she cares about most. Some people may complain about that aspect of her, the cruelty toward others and how she ends up basically alienating herself. But I felt that that was part of what made her feel so real as a character. She is trying to understand her place in the world and fight her way to the top, and of course in doing so she is going to push people away. It is logical that someone who closes her heart in order to protect herself will then struggle to have meaningful relationships with other people.

The one issue that I had with Lada was her relationship with Mehmed. I understand the draw and the attraction and I understand that similarities that draw them together but I have trouble have a real romance with a man who already has a harem of wives. I get that Lada means more to him than any of the other women but that doesn’t change the fact that he goes to them, that he has children with them, and that she will never be the only one for him.

The other women try to teach her how to gain power through a husband and using her body and Lada comes to the point where she has to make a decision. She has feelings for Mehmed but can she really be herself while she’s at his side. She becomes torn because he makes her feel female for the first time and she enjoys that, and yet she is unwilling to give up her own dreams.

In the end, I don’t feel the like romance could ever work out in a way that would allow Lada to truly be who she is and I feel like she set aside her own dreams because she was afraid of being alone. Because she knew that no one else could ever love her for who she is the way Mehmed does. And I agree with the decision she makes in the end.

Radu was another conundrum. I liked him as a character but at the same time I became so frustrated with how needy he was all the time. I understand that he is just as much a product of how he was raised as Lada is and that his lack of affection growing up makes him crave it, but in the end his desperation makes him harder to like. He’s smart and intelligent and he’s found a place for himself in this new kingdom, so why can’t he ever find peace. Why must he always pine after what he can’t have when there is so much more within his reach? I think I just wanted more from his as a character.

Overall, the book was a very good read. There were some interesting dynamics in the characters and their ever evolving relationships and more than anything is was dark and gritty and holds nothing back, and in the end that made it all that more real.

The Top 25 books that take place in Washington State

 

This week we took a day trip out to the Hoh rainforest which is located on the Washington coast.  We decided to do a loop around the whole peninsula and imagine my surprise as we’re driving north to find myself in the town of Forks, WA. I knew it was on the peninsula and I knew it was somewhere in that general area, I just didn’t realize how close it was. And while I am not a Twilight fan, you can’t help but at least stop and get a picture (right?). It was interesting to see how such a small, nondescript town could become so widely known on a national level, all because of a book (and I guess you have to count the movies too…). I am a born and raised Washingtonian and I love reading books that take place here so it got me thinking about all the other books that I had read that take place in Washington. And that got me curious as to whether there were other popular books that take place in Washington that I was missing out on. Now, whether you’re from Washington, have visited Washington, or still have it on your list of places to visit, I can say that there a plenty of beautiful places to visit and I’m am obviously not the only one who thinks so because that list of books that take place right here in Washington just kept getting longer and longer the more I looked into it. 

As I continued investigating the list got up there in the hundreds so I had to start cutting down. So I’ve stuck with the top 25 most popular books that take place in Washington. Now, I haven’t read all of these books and for those books that I haven’t read personally, I’ve included average ratings from other sites. I have organized books by popularity (based on total number of reviews for the first book on Goodreads). And for those of you who have read some of these books, leave me a quick note and let me know what you thought. Did I miss any of your favorites that also took place in Washington? Let me know and I’ll add it to the growing list!

1) Twilight Series by Stephenie Myers

   

Location: Forks, WA

My Overall Rating: 2 stars

Goodreads Average Rating for Book #1: 3.56 stars (3,496,184 ratings)

Genres: YA, Fanstasy, Romance, Teen angst (no offense)

As mentioned above, no list is truly complete without including this series. Now, by the time I got around to reading this series it was already hugely popular nationwide and the movies were already being filmed. One of my younger sisters had read the series and highly recommended it so I bit the bullet and read the first book. And, unfortunately, I didn’t like it (I know, I’m so sorry, please don’t hate me). I had a hard time getting through it but my sister insisted that the second book was much better. And so on and so forth until I’d finished the whole series (and really didn’t like any of them)! I know that a lot of people love this series, and there were some very passionate Edward vs Jacob teams. And if you are one of those people, Forks does a huge Twilight festival every September, so check it out sometime!

2)  Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James

   

Location: Vancouver and Seattle

Average Goodreads rating for Book #1: 3.68 stars (1.345,983 ratings)

Genre: Romance,

Now, I am not a fan of romance. I can take some very occasional romance mixed in with the plot as long as it doesn’t get too detailed, but just straight up romance is not something that I am the least bit interested in. And beyond that, the premise of this book, the whole domination aspect, is something that really grates on me. But, as you can see by the number of ratings this was a very popular book, and to each their own I guess.

3) The Art of racing in the rain by Garth Stein

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.18 stars (316,927 ratings)

Genres: Fiction, Animals

Having never heard of this book before, this one was a big surprise based on how many other books it beat out. This is a story on family, love, loyalty, and hope, all told from the perspective of Enzo the dog. He watches his master Denny very closely as loving Enzo tries to understand the complexity of human life and troubles.  While I have yet to read the book I have heard many good things about it.

4) Where’d you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.91 stars (220,352 ratings)

Genre: Fiction, Humor, Chick Lit

This is another book that I only heard about after some searching but is one that I fully intend to look into. From what I can tell this is a humorous story about Bernadette Fox, a quirky mother who is just done with life and her loving daughter who has planned a family trip to Antarctica of all places.  And now Bernadette (described as an eccentric genius) has disappeared and Bee is on a mission to find her. Have you read this one? Let me know what you think!

5) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars (191, 376 ratings)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, World War II

The story starts at the Panama Hotel in Seattle where belongings of Japanese families interned during World War II have been located, and Henry Lee reminisces on growing up during that time, and his first love, Keiko, a Japanese student who was interned with her family. It addresses both issues of the war and prejudice that Henry’s Chinese family had against Japanese. And in reminiscing Henry hopes to find what he needs to resolves not just the past but his present as well. I have yet to read this book as well, so any insights are much appreciated!

6) Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

        

Location: Tri-cities, WA

My Overall Rating: 3.5 stars (some books were a 3, some were a 4, hence the 3.5)

Goodreads Average for book #1:  4.18 stars (121,135 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Vampires, Native American

The Mercy Thompson series revolves around Mercy (yep, you guessed it) who is a mechanic, a coyote shapeshifter, and is overall awesome. She was raised by werewolves, is friends with local vampires, and works for the grumpiest fey you’ve ever met. I was reluctant coming into this series but I really enjoyed the first book and I have enjoyed each one after it. While not all the books in the series keep you on the edge of your seat, I love all the characters and this is one of those series that I will keep reading until they stop making books.  This series takes place in Eastern Washington, which is very different from our green, wet side of the state. Now there is a bit of rivalry between the Eastern and Western sides of our state. We are separated by mountains, have completely different weather, and us Westerners tend to think there’s nothing worth seeing in Eastern Washington (sorry guys!). But, this book proves there is plenty of exciting things happening in Eastern Washington (at least fictionally). 

7) Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Location: San Piedro Island

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.77 stars (119,776 ratings)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery

This is a historical novel that takes place on the fictional island of San Piedro (supposedly just off the coast of Washington) that revolves around a murder case set in 1954. A Japanese American man is accused of killing a respected fisherman from the community and the trial deals with the community, coming to terms with issues of race and justice. This book was adapted into a movie starring Ethan Hawke in 1999.

8) Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.03 (116, 199 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary fiction,

This story follows the unlikely friendship of Kate and Tully. This stories follows their friendship from its beginning in the 8^th grade in 1974 and through the following three decades as they learn and grow and try and discover who they are and what they want in life. Their lives differ but their friendship endures.

9) With me in Seattle Series by Kristen Proby

       

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.95 (48,975 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Romance

This is another romance series that takes place in Seattle that has become fairly popular. I will admit that I had never heard of it until I started researching. As previously mentioned, I don’t read romance but if you are someone who does, then here’s another one based out of good old Seattle.

10) Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead

     

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.95 stars (44,567 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Demons

So, I have not actually read this series. But here’s the gist. Georgina is a succubus who works for hell. She lives in Seattle and spends her time working at a local bookstore where she gets free books and white mochas and drools over local writer Seth. Now a local vampire has died and it is up to Georgina to figure out who (or what) did it. I can’t give you any helpful advice on this one so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself.

11) Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega #2) by Patricia Briggs

Location: Seattle, WA

My rating: 3 stars

Goodreads Average rating:  4.26 stars (43,983 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Werewolves,

This is a spin off novel from the Mercy Thompson series. While most of the series takes place in their hometown in Colorado, this book takes place here in Washington. Anna is a rare Omega werewolf and the new mate of Charles (adopted brother to Mercy). Charles and Anna are sent to Washington to meet with werewolf leaders and, of course, chaos ensues. I liked this spin off series just as much as I liked the original Mercy Thompson series. I really like Anna as a character and I really like her relationship with Charles

12) The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting

   

                Location: Buckley, WA

My Rating: 3 Stars

                Average Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars (42,341 ratings)

                Genres: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy

               

This book takes place in Buckley, WA, a small town that is just a hop, a skip and a jump away from where I currently live. What I liked most about this series it that it was very original. Violet can sense dead bodies. She feels an echo. Sometimes she’s sees colors, hears sounds but each death leaves behind a unique echo.  Finding the bodies is easy, the real question is can she find the killer? There is definitely some teen angst mixed in there but overall this is an interesting series.

13) True Colors by Kristin Hannah

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.88 stars (30,959 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit

This story follows the lives of three sisters as they band together after their mother’s death.  The story follows them into adulthood where loyalties are tested, secrets are revealed and their relationship begins to fray at the edges. A shocking crime rocks both the family and their community and the sisters have to learn to come to terms with each other, their family, and find their own path to happiness.

14) Boneshaker (The clockwork Century #1) by Cherie Priest

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.50 stars (25,893 ratings)

Genres: Steampunk, Zombies, Alternate history

This steampunk novel provides an alternate version of 1860’s Seattle. While testing a Bone-shaking drill, Seattle is exposed to a blight gas that turns anyone who breaths it into the living dead. The city has been walled off but Ezekiel, the teenage son of the inventor who created the Bone-Shaker, is determined to rewrite his father’s part in history and will have to face zombies, pirates, and criminal overlords along the way.

15) Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber

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Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.04 stars (22,849 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Crafts

When Lydia Hoffman, a cancer survivor and owner of A Good Yarn, starts a knitting class for her patrons, she forms a special friendship and bond with three extraordinary women--Jacqueline, Carol, and Alix--and together they share laughter, heartbreak, and dreams.

16) Microserfs by Douglas Coupland

Location: Redmond, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.87 stars (20,233 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Humor, Technology

This humorous story follows the lives of six code-crunching computer whizzes who work for Microsoft. They call themselves Microserfs, and spend 16 hours a day writing code for their “Lord” Bill Gates. The story is a series of electronic diary entries and follows their lives and they grow, eventually branch out into their own company, and try to find balance in their highly computerized lives! 

17) The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

Location: Spokane, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.08 stars (18,277 ratings)

Genres:  Short stories, Fiction, Humor

This series of short stories revolves around the life of two characters as they grow up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, where author Sherman Alexie grew up himself. The stories are full of stark realism, irony, and quite a bit of humor.

18) The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Location: Bainbridge Island, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.79 stars (17,513 ratings)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Emily’s life has taken a turn for the worst and so she accepts her aunt’s invitation to spend a month with her on Bainbridge Island in WA. While there she find a red velvet diary, dated in 1943, which has surprising connections to her own life.

19) Chinooks Hockey Team Series by Rachel Gibson

     

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.86 stars (17,280 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports, Chick Lit

This Romance series follows the ups and downs in the love lives of the fictional Chinook Hockey Team. Each book focuses on a different member of the team and their misadventures in finding love and playing hockey.

20) Cedar Cove Series by Debbie Macomber

         

Location: Port Orchard, WA

Average Goodreads Rating for book #1: 4.08 stars (15,662 ratings)

Genres: Romance

This is a romance series that takes places in a fictional town in Washington State that is modeled after Port Orchard. The series became so popular that it was later developed into a hallmark channel TV show starring Andie MacDowell.

21) Blood and Roses series by Callie Hart

     

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.09 stars (12,441 ratings)

Genres: Romance, Adult Fiction, Dark,

This is another popular romance series that takes place here in Washington. All the book summaries are fairly vague so unfortunately I can’t give you too much to go on. From what I could find in the first book the main character is desperately looking for her missing sister and is willing to do anything to find her, including turning to bad boy Zeth for help.

22) Urban Shaman (Walker Papers #1) by C.E. Murphy

Location: Seattle, WA

My Rating: 3 Stars

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.72 Stars (11,978 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic,

Joanne Walker is a police officer in the City of Seattle and she is also a Shaman. She’s been avoiding her paranormal side, but now she needs to learn to control her powers, and she’s running out of time if she wants to save her city from the Wild Hunt.  This is an odd mix of Celtic and Native American mythology. It is very similar to many other Urban Fantasies out there (including the Mercy Thompson series listed above), but… it was published a couple years before most of the other ones came out, so technically, it was still pretty original when it first came out. J

23) Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon series by Yasmine Galenorn

         

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.65 stars (11,141 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Witches, Vampires

This series follows the D’Artigo sisters, three half-human, half-faerie sisters who work for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. At the Wayfarer Inn, a portal to the Otherworld, their job is to keep the things that go bump in the night from getting through the portal and into Earth. But their mixed heritage can make things interesting as their powers can often fix out at the worst possible times.

24) Hold me closer, necromancer by Lish McBride

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars (11,076 ratings)

Genres: YA, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Zombies, Humor,

Sam has just found out that he is necromance and he has only a week to figure out how to use his powers as he is roped in by Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Luckily, Seattle has as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. The one thing that most raters can agree on it is that this book will have you laughing out loud!

25) Greywalker Series by Kat Richardson

        

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.43 stars (10,985 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

This is another series that I have not read but that has just recently found its way onto my to-read list. Harper is a Private Investigator and after a near death experience she finds that she is now a Greywalker, someone who can cross over from our world into the Grey world were vampires, ghost, and all the other monsters live.