Seduced by Moonlight , Laurell K. Hamilton

Ah, Laurell. She is one of my guilty pleasures. Anita Blake more so than Merry Gentry, but on occasion I'll dive into a Merry book. Much to my dismay, I have a friend that devours this series as fast as Ms. Hamilton will spit them out at her, and she has blurted out her disappointments with the recent developments (i.e. the ending) of the series. Kudos to her attempt to save some of the secrets though. :)

I think the Merry Gentry storyline is perhaps less me than the Anita Blake. I'm more of "powerful, I-will-kick-your-ass-in-a-heartbeat" woman that comes in a small package than I am Princess Meridith of the fairies. Succubus who feeds off of sex, or woman in a race for the throne with the contest being she has an heir before her cousin. See my options? Sidenote: I am really excited that the next Anita book has brought Edward back, w00t.

It took quite a bit of time for me to get into the book. It has been so long since I had read a Merry book that in the first couple chapters, I was having to stop and think about what had happened previously. I had to familiarize myself with characters once more. But once I got to that point... whoa baby.

I love Laurell's endings. She writes great endings. Some of the middles are weak. But the endings make it all worth it. This book is no different. And it has left me sort of wanting more with the next one. No joke... Merry Gentry has not succeeded in that area, well, ever. But I can't wait to find out if she is immortal or not.

All in all, kudos to Laurell for peaking my interest some more.

Highlights: 2008

Hands down, my favorite discovery of this year is definitely the Twilight series. I can't wait to devour the next two. A must finish series.

I'm also excited to read Tales of Beadle Bard. Who doesn't love a little commentary from our favorite Hogwarts Headmaster. I adore J.K. Rowling and the small peek I've taken at the book, I noticed some hints about what has happened to our favorite characters in the prologue. I dearly hope this is not the last we have heard from J.K., her wizarding world, and Harry Potter.

I have to say my most disappointing read of the year was The Da Vinci Code. A lot of hype for little satisfaction at the end.

A series I have been itching to reread is Lovers & Dreamers by Nora Roberts. No idea why, but it has been sticking out of my shelf, calling to me. So perhaps those are soon to follow.