My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans — except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay — no matter what the personal cost.

I absolutely adored this book. I’m sad that the trilogy is over, I’d love to have more books about Katniss, about her children even. The book was a bit awkward in places, but it all came together. I give Collins many props for the way she tied it up in the epilouge. I think what stuck with me the most is the song about the hanging tree.

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book at the urging of some friends and I’m really glad I did. I didn’t need another series to get into, but I think this is one I’m going to continue reading.

I’ve really come to love that authors are thinking outside the box and giving vampires and vampiric creatures a new spin.

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I truly love this series. Loved the book, but could do without the epilouge.

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I don’t feel bad, I’ve learned a lot about myself by trying this.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As much as I enjoy the Anita series, I was really disappointed by this one. I kept waiting for the big fight scene, but it didn’t come. It seems like we’ve fallen back to nothing but the ardeur and sex. I don’t care for that aspect.

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The Books:
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From Goodreads:
The House of Night is a thrilling, New York Times bestselling book series that follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird as she is “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Broken Arrow, OK, and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledgling vampyres like her.

It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Although Zoey has awesome new powers, it’s hard to fit in when everyone knows you’re “special.” As Zoey tries to make new friends and maybe find a hot boyfriend (or two), she comes up against all kinds of evil, from the perfect-looking, super-popular girl with not-so-faultless plans, to the mysterious deaths happening at the House of Night and all over Tulsa. Things at the House of Night are not always what they seem. Can Zoey find the courage deep within herself to find the truth and embrace her destiny?

I started this series in April, shortly before my Mom got sick. I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms and hospital rooms, so I needed something to read. I fell into the series as an escape. I thoroughly enjoyed them all. The only complaint I have about the books is in the later books, the main character POV changes from chapter to chapter. It’s weird and confusing to read paper books that way.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

E-Book Challenge
TBR Challenge
10-10-10 Challenge
451 Challenge
Debut Author Challenge
Take Another Chance

Which Leaves me with
2010 Challenge
Audiobook Challenge
Local Library Challenge
Read The Book Watch The Movie Challenge

I need to learn my limits and I have learned them this year for sure. It’s June already and I’m only on book 23. My personal goal is also being trimmed back down to 50.

I had started the House of Night series just before she took ill, so I’ve been stuck reading that ever since. I’ve fallen behind on reviews and figuring out where I am on my challenges. I’m not particularly caring right now, honestly. I set lofty goals for myself. I know I won’t meet them. I’m not giving up, I’m just refocusing.

Reviews are forthcoming when I finish the House of Night series.

On tap:
Burned (House of Night 7) by PC & Kristin Cast
Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Shadow Souls (The Vampire Diaries: The Return, #2) by LJ Smith
Dead in the Family: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Book 10 of Sookie Stackhouse) by Charlaine Harris
Bullet (Book 19 of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton

And that just catches up on the authors and series I’ve already fallen into that have new books out as of today. Then there is the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, #8) by Carrie Vaughn that comes out June 29th, Undead and Unfinished (Queen Betsy, Book 9) by MaryJanice Davidson that comes out July 6th. Then I get a reprieve on new books until August.

At some point, I need to jump back into the Dresden Files too. I’m tired, it’s 2am. I just finished Tempted. What do I want to read now? Finish House of Night or give it a brief break?

August 24th
Suzanne Collins – Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3)

December 8th
L.J. Smith – Midnight (The Vampire Diaries: The Return, #3)

December 28
Karen Marie Moning – ShadowFever (Book 5 in the Fever series)

January 2011
Awakened (House of Night, #8) by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Night School (Blood Coven, #5) by Mari Mancusi

From Goodreads: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Seth Grahame-Smith’s revision of a Jane Austen classic blew readers’ minds and became an instant national bestseller. Now, he tackles our greatest president…

When Abraham Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died from an ailment called the “milk sickness.” Only later did he learn that his mother’s deadly affliction was actually the work of a local vampire, seeking to collect a debt owed by Lincoln’s father. When Abe learned the truth, he vowed revenge and kept one passion hidden throughout his life: the brutal elimination of all vampires. His valiant, bloody fight against the undead was all but lost to history, until Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln. Using the journal as his guide, Seth reconstructs Lincoln’s life story and uncovers the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

You don’t know Abe. Honest.

I found this to be quite a unique take on history. It’s completely believable in the way it’s written. I wasn’t sure what to make of the book at first glance, but I had to at least give it a shot. I’m glad I did, it was quite entertaining. Give it a chance.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars