The Skin Trade.....

Oh, Oh, Oh so good.

Thank you George RR, this was an amazing read that blew my mind. Excuse me,  I need a few minutes to myself.

Reading.....

I love George R.R. Martin. The way he can string together a few words and paint a picture in my head amazes me. I am a full on fangirl when it comes to reading his fire and ice series; I spout family words, recognize sigils and argue conspiracy theories with fellow fans boys and girls.

Knowing how much I enjoy his writing has led me to his other works and short stories which often combine paranormal and science fiction. His Fevre Dream is a great read with an interesting take on vampirism. His short story, skin walker from Night Visons 5 is supposedly one of the best werewolf tales ever written. So, I being the obsessive fangirl, black girl nerd, or BGN have been on the hunt for this book since I finished the last S.4.F.&I, almost two years ago.

NV5 is not offered on Kindle and I am completely opposed to ever buying an actual book again. One, I really hate dusting and having books on my shelves just makes more work. Two, I like that I can carry my books with me wherever I go in case I need to re-read a passage, or Hulk out on some loser that challenges my knowledge of a particular book. Three, I hate all the necessities that go along with reading a physical book, like light (Kindle HD has a backlight), turning noisy pages (hubby complains that I'm making too much noise) and the inevitable stain that ruins the pages. Yes, I eat and read. Don't JUDGE!

So.......

I finally found the story in a George RR anthology, Dreamsongs II and the library let me borrow it! Yay!! Fist pumps and happy dance!!! "No, I'm not having seizure" Hubby asks me the strangest questions sometimes :)

Warrior come out and play

Warrior by Violet Dubrinsky

This is the fantasy love tale of Jaisyn head strong princess of Lytheria and stubborn Vulcan king of Morden.

The good:
So surprised how much I liked this book, though I'm obsessed with "Song for ice and fire" by George R.R. Martin, I just wasn't sure I would like another epic fantasy. So, so in love with this story; strong heroine, twists and turns, action and a good looking hero. Yes, please!

I'm jus sayin:
I'm so in love with V.D. right now. All of her books are good reads; well developed and interesting characters that can be both romantic and strong without making the story feel contrived . First Viktor, now Varian/Vulcan so in love with these manly men who have a sensitive heart and an adult imagination. 

V.D. Please, can I have another? And another two staring Varian, who I'm in lust with his controlled demeanor and of course one staring Malcolm. What about Malcolm, does he get over Jaisyn and find love? Please continue this series!

Have'nt read it yet? Buy it here

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!!!

Antagonize me:

 Why I prefer the villain                            

Most people's favorite character in a book is the protagonist the good guy; mine is the antagonist the adversary of the hero. Yes, I love a good baddy; not to say that I'm evil or want the world annihilated, government thrown into chaos (cause the politicians do a great job of that themselves), or for them to marry/kill the girl; but, I do some key things about them................ 

 No restraint; wouldn't all of us love to let go? Really say and do what we want, "That color makes your skin look like oatmeal," or "No, you are not God's gift to women, you are God's gift to 1-800 numbers and dating services." Some of us actually say those things, but that "us" would never jump up on the "returns" counter at Target and start a riot would we? Yes, but only in our fantasies. The villain does just that, they cross the line, no matter where that line may be as long as they achieve their goal, it's worth it to them. 

They are having so much fun abandoning society's rules. While the good guy is straining to save the world the bad guy is having a blast blowing it to smithereens, I envy that a little. And, the more ruthless, despicable, & nasty they are, the more I can't wait for them to get their comeuppance. Hello, Joffrey Baratheon (from Song for Fire and Ice series) I'm talking to you! 

 I'm just sayin: Doesn't the protagonist get on your nerves even a little bit? They're so annoyingly "perfect" that I want to punch them in the face, Yeah that's right Sookie Stackhouse series with your free house, bikini sun bathing, every man I meet falls in love with me self. I'm working on my left jab just for you. Not that Sookie's life is perfect, but she never has to compromise and everything always works out for her in the end. And then there are characters like Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games Trilogy; a selfish, hot headed heoine who I completely hated. When marching to her death, Katniss tearfully says goodbye to her sister, but then turns to her mother; who she never forgives for sinking into depression after her father's death; and says, don't get depressed when I die. Ok, sure I won't be sad about the death of my oldest child. Total Bee-yotch! Did I want the capital to fall? Heh, sure. But, did I love it when Peeta choked her out? Yes, please! 

 I'm sayin so authors should listen:  I love the villain, they are often my favorite character, so I hate when someone takes a perfectly good baddy and castrates them. I recently read a book where the bad gal turned to a good gal towards the end of the book. Boo! How boring I don't want to feel sorry for the baddy, like Cersi Baratheon in a S.F.I. Who am I supposed to hate? Who will I yell at as I read? Whose death will I cheer? Stop! Keep them gloriously bad and let me love-hate them. Thankfully, Martin took the hint and Cersi is now back on top and should be madder and badder than ever in the next book!

Great villains: 

Serena from Ron Rash book Serena  

The Grinch from Dr.Seuss The Grinch who stole Christmas

Prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour 1Peter 5:8

So, this is my second attempt at a blog; originally I started the latte diaries blog, but kind of lost site if the goal for the blog, so I thought I could get a fresh start by blogging about something that I love to do, read. At this point in my life I average about 2 books a week depending on the length of the book and my interest in reading it. Case in point, I love the Song for fire and ice series and it usually takes me about a month to finish one of the books, Mr. Martin is a very detailed writer who writes complex characters that I need to savour and marinate on. However, a book like Owner of his heart by Theodora Taylor takes me about a week, I savour these characters and marinate on them as well, but the story is not as intricate and I usually use the notes function on my Kindle Fire to save passages that I want to review later. Why BookDevour? The name actually came from my hubby who proudly declared that I was a ferocious reader to one of his friends; that made me think of one of my favorite quotes from the bible, 1Peter 5:8 "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I have always thought that a poignant, yet scary image, so it kind of stayed with me. When my ferocious reading appetite got to the point that I was was reading three or four books a week I thought that it was time to harness my great and powerful gift (great power=great responsibility) and start reviewing books so that other Kindle users would know my opinion before they bought the book, since I usually read the reviews before purchasing. Then I thought, why not create a site dedicated to many things book? Give my reviews some web cred, so here I am. I would love to hear your opinion of any book that I review or read in any suggestions you have on what I should read next; I'm always prowling around looking for more books!

-Thanks, M