Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Overall Rating: 2 stars

Date Finished: January 29, 2017

I will start by saying that it took me a while to finish this book. The truth is that I was rather bored and there were other books that arrived that interested me more so this kept getting pushed to the side burner. Of course, the breaks in between reading may have affected how I felt about the book, but I never really felt any drive to keep reading either.

Unfortunately, the problems with this book begin with the premise itself. See, this book is premised as a retelling of Jane Eyre but in a world full of the Fae. So, you start off the book with very high expectations which are in all honesty pretty much impossible to meet because in all honesty we all know that it can't ever really compare to Jane Eyre. So the book set itself up but even alluding to it being a Jane Eyre retelling.

The second big thing is the romance. Now, there characters weren't all that great or really hashed out much, but that is unfortunately common in YA novels. The real issue is that the romance was based on absolutely nothing. Jane started falling in love with Edward based on almost no interaction. She would only see him for 5 minutes a week and sometimes less. And  yet, she just couldn't resist him and these deep feeling were developing just based on her obsessing over him? Not quite enough to make for an enjoyable romance.

And there is the main character herself. She was such a downer. Yes, she was injured. Yes, she had reasons to be bitter. But she was obsessed. She spent all of her time moping or obsessing about all the things she didn't have and felt she deserved. And all of this led her ridiculous, vain decision that could have ended everything. 

Towards the end you begin to see a difference in Jane as she grows and yet she is offered the chance to have a mask placed, on that would forever cover her deformity and its ill effects on other people. The catch is that the mask if made from fae mask which means that anyone with a mask can have their body taken over by the fae. Not only has the Queen already been trying to take her over but now she has personally witnessed people being taken over, and yet, despite all the risks, she decides to get a mask but the only thing she cares about is being pretty and special. And of course she is devastated when surprise, surprise it all backfires.

But even in the end she gets a  new mask and the overall message of the whole book is that looks is all that matters and the guy could never love her is she didn't have a normal face again. And of course, its okay to put your life, the life of everyone you care about, and the safety of your whole country in jeopardy just so she an be pretty. 

A Demon Bound (Imp #1) by Debra Dunbar

Overall Rating: 2 Stars

Date Finished: October 29, 2016

I will start by saying that I have never read any other Debra Dunbar books and I knew very little about this series going in. The premise itself was interesting but it just didn't live up to what I was hoping for. Having said that, there may be plenty of other people who loved this series and I could logically see why, but I just didn't work for me.

I've tried to figure out the best way to describe my reaction to this book and it was: Eh. I didn't hate the book, but I didn't particularly like it either

I will say that the main character was definitely snarky and that part of her was enjoyable but it was often too extreme and unbelievable. For example, she spent about 3/4 of this book being naked. Seriously. To cook, to clean, to examine dead bodies, and even to fight angels in the middle of the woods. Now, in some of those cases she did it for the shock value but let's be realistic, who in the world wants to do any kind of physical activity while nude? If she wants to strip all the time she could at least invest in a good sports bra she can keep on. It just felt too extreme and very unrealistic.

The other issue I had was all the focus on sex. Now, there is no sex in the book itself but the main character is constantly thinking about it, talking about it, fantasizing and it gets old real fast. And I get it, she is a demon and they are all about sensation and all of that and blah, blah, blah. But sometimes I felt like the main character was more like a creepy, horny cougar than anything else and that was not an enjoyable image.

And then they have the whole fight with the rogue angel and it all gets swallowed up by Sam's drama with Gregory. And it really was that, it was drama. It wasn't this tooth and nail fight to get away. It wasn't suspense. It was all, I hate you, no I don't hate you, wait yes I do hate you but yet for some reason I'm still strangely attracted to you but shouldn't be. And that also got very old. Especially when she finally gets away and yet still comes crawling back.(talk about some angst!)

So, there were some funny, enjoyable parts but also lots of drama, naked people and sexual fantasies. And in the end the bad outweighed the good for me.

Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1) by C.C. Hunter

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: October 7, 2016

Now, I will say that most anyone to starts this series already comes in biased. If you're reading this series, it is most likely because you enjoyed the Shadow Falls series and you can't wait to hear more about your favorite characters from that series. After the ending of the original Shadow Falls Series, I wasn't quite sure where this series was going to pick up. Was it going to be strictly Della, or would we see some of the other characters? I was expecting it to be mostly her casework with the FRU or something similar.

Luckily for you fans of Shadow Falls it picks up mostly where it left off. While some time has passed  Della is still at Shadow Falls with all of our good friends from the first series. And while these books focus on Della you still get to see into the lives of the other characters and see how some of their drama plays out. 

I will say that I always loved cranky Della from the original series and it was interesting to see things from her perspective. While she is still the same old, hands off Della, you get to see inside her head and some of fears and frustrations. I enjoyed her progression throughout the book and felt it was a really good storyline. I enjoyed the fact that we got to see both the mystery of Chan and the murder mystery being solved side by side. 

And there is of course a love triangle introduced (it almost wouldn't be Shadow Falls without it) but I really found myself enjoying the series despite that.

Della is a tough character who isn't afraid to stand up for herself and those she cares about and I really look forward to reading more in the next book. 

Witchling (Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon #1) by Yasmine Galenorn

Overall Rating: 1 star

Date Finished: October 5, 2016

This book was a disappointment. I picked it up because it was on my Top 25 list of books that take place in Wa and I was curious. The idea could have been good but the execution just wasn't there. 

One of my biggest complaints is that the world building was sporadic and unclear. I mean, just the premise itself, three sisters with three very different powers. They describe weres as a separate race from the sidhe and yet their father is sidhe and her sister is a were. So is it another race or a manifestation of sidhe power, because you can't have it both ways. They also mention witches as being different from sidhe and one character's powers is being a witch. And while the third is now a vampire, the only comment on her beforehand is that her power was climbing walls. So just in that back story alone there's a lot of contradiction. All the characters are pretty stereotypical and uninteresting. 

And all the romance is lame. The main love interests in an arrogant, self-obsessed jerk and she sleeps with him despite the fact that she doesn't even like him. And while she does actually like the other guy, she still maintains an ongoing relationship with both. And both guys spend most of the book talking about how good they are in bed. It was just all so overdone and unrealistic. All the conversations seemed forced and none of it seemed like real people interacting but just shells of a character.

I also hated all the assumptions and random conclusions. They get a vague description from a drunk guy in the alley and yet she knows who he is immediately. Of course, it must be him! Then they go to Tom's and come across a female fey and she all of the sudden knows who it is, this must be Wisteria who was mentioned in one sentence in a diary even though I have no idea what she looks like but I just know it's her. And the whole book goes like that, from random conclusion to random conclusion with no leg work, no real investigation and not much of a fight anywhere. Camille cares more about her designer clothes and having sex and was just not a likable character.

Unfortunately, this was a big miss for me.

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?

House of the Rising Sun (Crescent City #1) by Kristen Painter

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Date Finished: September 16, 2016

This book left me a bit torn. There were things that I liked and things that I didn’t like, which made it very hard to rate.

Based on the blurb you expect a book all about Augustine, but there are actually two main characters and alternating POV’s between the two of them. The second character is Olivia’s daughter, Harlow. And this is where things get complicated.

See, Harlow is pretty hard to like in the beginning. She’s closed off, selfish, and afraid of just about everything except for computers and online gaming. She is even afraid of her own Fae heritage and closes herself and pretends to be human. The good thing is that it gets better. Harlow grows throughout the book and is more enjoyable towards the end of the book, but the first part of this book it’s still hard to deal with her. And while the character POV gives you some understanding as to why she acts the way she does she just keeps going back to that “void” in her life all because she doesn’t know her Dad is. I understand the frustration, but you don’t just cut yourself off from the world because you don’t know who your dad is.

On the other hand, Augustine was a very likable character. Just enough rogue and darkness to be interesting and his interactions with Harlow are quite enjoyable.

There is some action and intrigue and mystery and it all seems to be building up to something big, and that is where I got really disappointed. See, there is this big fight going on with the vampires and yet every fight feels summarized. There’s no suspense, no tense moments, and it was all usually over in one page or less. And so I kept thinking, well, she’s building up to the big fight at the end.

And then the vampire boss kidnaps Harlow, and when Augustine comes home the fight is literally over in 1 minute or less. So I think, now it’s all going to come to a head, or some new information will be revealed or there will be some sort of cliffhanger, and yet, it just ends. In fact, I found myself paging back and forth and the end of the book wondering if my copy was somehow missing the last chapter!

The beginning was slow, the middle got better, and there was lots of buildup and yet that was the worst ending ever. All the exciting parts of the book felt brushed over and not well developed and I found that very unsatisfying, and anticlimactic.

And yet, despite all of my frustrations, by the end I really liked the characters. That alone will probably be enough for me to read the next book but I really hope things pick up because this was frustrating.

And I should note that I did not read the House of Comarre series (I guess this is a spinoff of that series).

Silence (The Queen of the Dead #1) by Michelle Sagara

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Date Finished: September 16, 2016

I absolutely love the Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara. I love the characters and he world building and it is a series that I will keep reading as long as it lasts (and it’s already been going for a while). So, of course when Michelle Sagara comes out with her first YA series, I have to read it.

Now, I have to admit that I was really bored through the first half of the book. and at one point even thought of not finishing. I found the main character boring and uninteresting. Nothing was really happening (despite all the vague threats that something would happen) and there was mostly just a lot of talking. Both of the main characters are still caught up on their exes and so there is no real romance building and not a whole lot developing with the necromancy either so it was a bit frustrating.

And then they go to a random party and a necromancer shows up looking to recruit Emma and things start to pick up. From there things start to move faster and there are clear goals set so even most of the down time is planning or researching. Emma finally starts using her powers and the book comes to a big closing.

I will say that I was very surprised at the end with how much I found that I had enjoyed the book. I was more than prepared to give this book a very low rating and yet, things really turned around and left me excited for the next book.

By the end I really began to like all of the characters, especially Michael. I can't remember ever reading a book with an Autistic character. I have known a few people with Autism and I felt that the author did a great job of capturing the reality for many highly functional Autistic people and the challenges for those who care for them. And what I liked the most is that she did not make him a helpless character, she gave him strength and intelligence and he of all people was able to see what others couldn't. I was so glad with his inclusion in everything and what a great, realistic character he was!!

 I also really liked the growing relationship between Emma and Eric, and the fact that it isn't romantic makes it so much more real. By the end I was surprised with how much I ended up liking the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Discount Armageddon (InCryptid #1) by Seanan McGuire

Overall Rating: 2 Stars

Date Finished: September 15, 2016

This book has been on my to-read list for quite a while. I originally wasn’t going to read the book after reading the synopsis, but a number of my friends really enjoyed the series and so I decided to at least pick it up and give it a chance.

The one thing that I will say for it, this book had a lot of originality. The concept itself was very original. The Price family work as cryptozoologist or something to that effect, they basically study paranormal creatures and maintain the environment, which often involved protecting the paranormal creatures from hunters, or protecting humans from the creatures. The Price family was very quirky and there plenty of new paranormal creatures introduced, and there was a lot of potential here, but it just didn’t quite all come together for me

Verity was very frustrating in her decisions. Ignoring the fact that she works at a strip club, we expect her to make good, logical decisions, considering that it was all her childhood was spent training for. And yet…

She has been taught her whole life to avoid the Covenant at all costs. She gets caught by Dominic, a covenant hunter, and yet the first thing she does it blurt out her name! The covenant thinks they’re all dead! They’re basically in the clear! And not only did she now endanger herself, but her whole family. Having realized her error, she of course the kills him…right? No, she proceeds to invite him out to coffee and tell her all about her family and the dragon living beneath the city. You know, the dragons believed to be extinct because the covenant wiped them out? Yeah, that’s a good idea, let’s tell the covenant everything but trust Dominic not to tell his superiors because, hey, he’s hot.

And then there were the non-existent transitions in their relationship. After their little chat at coffee Dominic decides to track her down. He wants to make a point and let her know that he knows who her cover story. So he shows up at a dance competition. You expect the creepy face you keep seeing in the crowds as you spin, or some other scare tactic. But no, he knocks out her partner and gets on the floor and dances with her. First off, she is a professional dancer. No matter how good you are, you aren’t going to be able to keep up. Second, you have not only outed her but you have now put her face in the middle of a crowd, a crowd of elite dancers who probably all recognize each other, in a competition that is probably recorded. How did it make any sense for him to get on that dance floor, expect as some excuse for the author to get them to feel the attraction of having their bodies so close together.

And then later they are in an alley and Verity is considering running away while Dominic starts to reach for his weapon. And she thinks to herself, there is more than one way to fight a battle, and then she kisses him. Umm, what? No slow build of attraction (besides their random dance together), no leaning in, no small touch here and there, just a hey, we’re about to fight so let me kiss you instead. It was just so random and awkward and the whole progression of the relationship felt so forced.

The ending was also fairly predictable. Overall, I will say that I liked a lot of the new creatures introduced, I like the concept and the world building, but I just didn’t really like how it was executed. 

The Essence (Pledge #2) by Kimberly Derting

Overall Rating: 1 star

Date finished: 8/11/16

 

So, I have put off reading this book for a while now. I’ve picked it up a few times and was always horribly bored and I felt bad so I put it away hoping that maybe it would be better the next time I picked it up. Maybe the other books that I read recently were just more exciting and it was biasing my read of this book. I kind of enjoyed the first book and I was really hoping for a good second book but I was disappointed every time I picked it up so I just kept delaying.

And now I’ve finally bit the bullet and I’m afraid I was just as disappointed this time as I was all of the other times. Charlie was really not a strong character throughout this book. She doesn’t do well at anything she does; the fighting, riding horses, even the speeches, the learning, the memorizing. She is distracted, unfocused and despite wanting to make a difference she just didn’t feel strong. She felt more like she spent all her time relying on other people to do her job for her. With all the protests she doesn’t take a strong hand as a leader to stop them. And even after the opposition starts killing innocent people, they don’t do anything. In fact, they have evidence implicating Brook’s father, he even admits to orchestrating the killings, and yet all they do is say they’re going to find the people who did this. Hello! You already know who did this. Why isn’t her father immediately arrested and punished. Yes, there are other people he’s working with but offering freedom doesn’t mean letting people get away with anything. It’s possible to be a strong, fair leader without being a tyrant. And yet, she was a weak leader with heroic ideas and no action to follow it up.

There are a couple assassination attempts and yet she keeps naively trusting everyone around her and only wanting to see the best in them.

And on top of that, most of the book was pretty much boring. First she’s in the palace studying or obsessing over losing her sanity. Then she’s traveling by train; then by horse. And nothing really happens. Just talking and planning and traveling.

And then they get to summit where she is going to do so much to help her people and she freezes up. And not just once. She pretty much spends the entire summit without saying anything significant to anyone, complaining about how weird the other queens are, and not building a single diplomatic relationship.  And then all of the sudden the summit was over and it all ended up being a complete waste of time because she accomplished absolutely nothing.

And there are so many unexplained things. For example, Max comes rushing down, riding day and night, but says that it wasn’t because of the previous attacks and he’ll explain after his super-secret meeting with the guards. And then he never explains. He just says hey, so we haven’t found the bad guys so we’re going to take you to be with your family. Why does that warrant riding at break neck speed to get there. What was the urgency? He could have sent a message. Or just waited until they got back to the palace, because hey they went back to the palace before enacting their super-secret plan anyways.

The whole thing was just a bit ridiculous. And then after spending the entire book being weak and useless, in a moment of strength she draws on Sabara’s powers to save her sister and all of the sudden all of her friends are accusing her of being a monster. She finally stood up for herself. I could understand their horror at finding out Sabara is still inside, or that she killed the other queen, but being horrified because she used that same power to protect herself and her sister is just ridiculous.

Overall, unfortunately I just did not like this book much at all. Despite my frustration at least I finally made it all the way through to the end. I was just really hoping that it would redeem itself at some point and it never did. A disappointing second book to what was a promising series.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: July 22, 2016

So, let me start by saying that I loved this cover, and I would be lying if I said that the cover didn't in some way effect my choice to read this book. You can really get in trouble if you choose books to read just based on the cover, but it always a plus when a good book happens to have a good cover as well.

So, at the end of each chapter this book contains small portions of the debriefing/interview of Tarver and I actually really liked that little detail. It gave little hints at the future without giving away too much.

Now the main complaint that I had with this book was Lilac. While on the ship, her actions were justified in the fact that she was trying to protect other people from her father's wrath. Now, why she put up with that for so long is a whole nother issue, but she still had her reasons for pushing Tarver away. But, once they were off the ship, there was no justification for her continuing to be a stuck up and impossible. I understand that she was going through a rough time and she definitely strong of will, but I really had trouble liking her through the first part of the book because of how rude and snarky she was.

As the book progressed, that changed. Lilac developed into a stronger character, their relationship developed and the book inevitably became more enjoyable. There are some definite twists and turns toward the end of the book and overall this was a good read that I definitely recommend. 

Warrior Witch (The Malediciton Trilogy #3) by Danielle L. Jensen

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: July 31, 2016

I have enjoyed this whole series and I was really looking forward to this third installment. I knew that there was a lot to wrap up and that is always so hard to do, so I was interested to see how this would all play out.

To start with, there is a lot going on in this book. The main characters have to face off against the Fey, the evil king, the crazy brother, the ambitious half-sister, and the narcissistic duke who is pulling all the strings (just to name a few). And it was of course a lot to put into one book because in one way or another they have to wrap up all of these strings somewhere a long the way.


Despite the difficulty of everything that had to be wrapped up, I felt that most of it was handled very well. I was happy things ended with the king and Roland. The overall threat of the trolls and eliminated, the half-bloods got their freedom. Bad guys that needed to die died, and while some good people died along the way as well, the overall plot was very well done.


That being said, there are a couple reasons why this book was a 3 for me, and not a 4.


One of those reasons is that Cecile and Tristan were basically separated during the entire book. Their building romance and their interaction was often the best part of the books and most of that was eliminated in this book. They have very little interaction besides planning and having sex every once in a while. But even then, there's no real romance. Their relationship seemed to really cool off in this book and I was frustrated by that.


The second, and the biggest reason, was the ending. I don't want to give too much away but I was very frustrated by the ending for Cecile and Tristan. Despite the losses, everything seemed to work out for everyone else in one way or another, but Cecile and Tristan did not have a happy ending at all. And I feel like that author was trying to make up for that with the ending but that last chapter was soo frustrating!


In that last chapter Cecile is dying. Tristan shows up and sees his son for the first time. And what does he say? You should try to lose at cards more often. And while I get that he was trying to hint at the fact that he was watching them, You are seeing your son for the first time!!! You don't have to break down in tears, but a hug, an I love you, something!!!!!


And while Tristan and Cecile end up together in the end, I just feel like that doesn't make up for a lifetime lived apart. That doesn't make up for the family they never got to have, for not being there to watch your son grow up. It just wasn't enough for me.


And that is why this was  3 for me. I really liked the series overall and I really liked this book, up until the last 3 or 4 chapters.



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.