innayankevich diary

petak, 31.07.2009.

Book review: Kiss of Darkness

I just finished reading Kiss of Darkness by Heather Graham. I cannot believe this book has an average of 4.5 stars at Amazon, because as far as I'm concerned, it's a 2 star book at most. This book, in my mind, is what happens when the paranormal/suspense genre and the romance genre get strangled together in the hands of a writer who might otherwise have been competent if she hadn't been trying to handle two genres at once and performing inadequately at both. I'll admit that this is the first book by Graham that I've read. I expect it will also be the last. That said, there is no indication that this is part of a series of any sort, or that any of these characters have appeared elsewhere. If that is the case --and I certainly didn't care enough about the book afterward to find out-- then maybe some of my criticisms are less valid. But still, if that is the case, it should have been made more obvious on the cover of the book itself, lest some other poor reader like myself waste two evenings' reading time. Basically this is the story of a modern-day psychologist Jessica, who travels to Romania for a conference. While in Romania, she crosses paths with 3 college students, one of whom is left in a coma after an alleged vampire attack. When these characters return to New Orleans, it seems they have also been joined by a professor by the name of Bryan, who is clearly going to be Jessica's love interest.With the exception of the heavy handed prologue --a battle set in medieval times-- there is no real foreshadowing of what's going to happen, except that our characters sense the presence of an evil red darkness. And as my husband joked, "Heck, I feel that every time I walk near our HR department."So then when the student who was in a coma dies and becomes a vampire, and Jessica reveals she is actually a centuries old good vampire as well as the illegitmate daughter of the medieval king (and by the way she can both dematerialize AND walk in sunlight, neat trick that), and Bryan reveals he is actually a centuries old warrior bent on the destruction of all vampires because the big bad killed his one true love (the illegitmate daughter of the medieval king naturally), and all of Jessica's friends know what's going on and never blink an eye (because one of them used to be a vampire but isn't any longer so they're up to speed on on this stuff), and naturally Bryan and Jessica have been doing the nasty and now they no longer trust each other and OMG what will happen to their love, and how will they defeat the big bad, and did I mention the author throws in a werewolf at the last minute??!!The second half of the book might have been better if the first half had, oh, I don't know, maybe actually led up to the second half instead of just having everything revealed in a very anti-climactic fashion in one fell swoop. And if the big bad, known by the ominous title of "The Master," is really so powerful and nearly indestructible, how is it that ultimately the final battle is also so relatively easy and anti-climactic?Having spoken about the paranormal suspense aspects of the story, I suppose I should mention the romance aspects. ::thinks:: Do I have to? I wouldn't say the sex scenes were both uninspired and uninspiring, but I barely drug myself through the first round of kissing and skipped anything involving "romance" from that point forward. And as bad as the sex scenes have become in the Anita Blake series, I've never had to completely skip one before, so that should tell you something right there. So save yourself some time, and skip this one.(crossposted to super_books)

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srijeda, 29.07.2009.

Wrath, Rhage and Phury

I just discovered the excellent Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward. The Brotherhood are vampire warriors charged with defending all vampires from the a group of nasty slayers known as the Lessening Society.Admittedly I was a bit put off when I opened the initial book in the series, Dark Lover, and the first thing I found was a glossary. And then there are the names of the vampires: Wrath, Rhage, Thorment, Zsadist, Phury, etc. As I wrote in my Amazon review, they're clearly straight out of a romance novel. But I pressed on.And am I glad I did! The characters are well written, the dialogue realistic (though the "my brother" references seem like they're trying a bit too hard to be hip). The second book, Lover Eternal, is better than the first, and toward the end sets up the major arc for the third novel. Even when the action is a bit cliched and predictable, I didn't mind because the writing was so good. (And yeah, so are the sex scenes.)So vampires, slayers, violence, sex, and eternal love. Works for me. (Crossposted to super_books)

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utorak, 28.07.2009.

My name is Ssssid....

I got to pet a python yesterday.No, that's not euphemistic. Sid is an 11-foot, 60 pound Burmese python. I had never touched a live snake before (I had dissected a preserved specimen in college) and it didn't feel at all like I thought it would, though not liking reptiles much in general admittedly I had never given it considerable thought. His scales were very different from what I expected, and the feel of the muscles underneath is just amazing. What power. We also got to watch him crawl on the floor for a bit, which was neat. Sumokid, along with others in our local homeschooling group, attended a presentation yesterday made by Andy Howington of the Georgia Reptile Conservancy. We got to see lots of neat stuff: a velociraptor skull, a T.Rex tooth, an alligator skull, box turtle eggs and rat snake eggs. Among the live animals there were a snapping turtle (large and annoyed), yellow slider turtle, box turtle, baby alligator (about 2.5 feet long), leopard gekko, savannah monitor lizard, king snake, corn snake, rat snake, copperhead, milk snake (the one that looks like the venomous coral snake) and of course, Sid. Sid was the only one offered up for petting, alas, though I would have liked to have petted the alligator and lizards. I got a chance to talk to the presenter about the National Geographic special about pythons and alligators in the Everglades. Turns out he was supposed to participate in the filming of that special but wasn't able to because of scheduling and work conflicts. Which he said may have been just as well as the order is to kill pythons on sight and that would be difficult for him. I thought the pythons in question were reticulated pythons (the longest snake, followed by Anacondas who are the heaviest snakes), but they're Burmese. (Sid's girlfriend btw is a 300 pound darling who I imagine is quite formidable when necessary.) We also had a chance to compare the temporal fenestra on the two skulls. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to talk to him about the new research showing that some Anaconda mothers are taking care of their young, which would change the belief that the crocodiliads are the only social reptile family.Yeah, for someone who doesn't necessarily like reptiles, I know a lot about them. Sumokid shined, answering questions about omnivores, diurnal animals, terrestrial animals, desert adaptations and metamorphosis, and spent more time petting Sid than any of the other kids.

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ponedjeljak, 27.07.2009.

The moon didn't hit my eye...

...but there was big pizza pie. Seven big pizza pies to be exact. Today our homeschooling group took a field trip to the local pizza parlor. The owner took the kids on a tour of the kitchen, showing them the counters, brick ovens, huge mixers used to make the dough and fresh cheese, where the dough proofs, and the big walk-in cooler (which may have been the kids' favorite part of the trip, not counting chowing down on pizza). Pizza dough was spun in the air, then topped and baked, and all the kids got a bit of pizza dough to play with while they were eating. Yes, most of them ended up taking at least one bite of the raw dough. We had plenty of pizza there, and brought enough home for dinner for two. A nice way to spend the afternoon.While we were waiting for field trip time, we walked through the antique shop next door. Sumokid got a red glass bead bracelet, and I got a nice bit of shiny glass. I coveted much of the depression and milk glass. There was also a really cool pair of brass dragon and lead crystal candlesticks that I told the husband I wouldn't mind having for our upcoming anniversary or my birthday, but then I changed my mind. They are seriously cool, but I need more bric-a-brac, particularly of the $55 needs to be polished type, like I need a whole in the head. We're getting over being sick, which means we missed the wedding of a friend of ours this weekend. I had insomnia last night, which means I had maybe three hours' worth of sleep, but I did get to finish my new book. On the plus side, the book was very good and I devoured it in a single read. On the not so plus side, that leaves only one more of this series to savor until the fourth book hits stores next year. Why can't the writers I like produce at a rate which keeps up with my reading? Sigh.Husband is well. Sumokid is outgrowing all of her winter clothes, which means shopping on the near horizon. She's at an awkward juncture, clothes-wise.Mom tells me a contract has been signed on my grandmother's house. I hope this sale goes through, because she's getting really worn down handling this particular aspect of the estate. I think this is pretty much all that's left though, fortunately.Except for being tired, I'm pretty good too.

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nedjelja, 26.07.2009.

Give me a letter thingy from sweetlydistinct

Freezing - it's bloody cold here!!Forgetful - my brain is broken =[Fish fingers (does that count as two?) - I'm obsessed right now!Frown - I am obsessed with a frown line I swear is going to be etched into my face forever, I want Botox *is kidding*Farts - Will won't stop farting and it STINKS!!Flowers - I've not had flowers in ages, I want flowers *stamps feet*Felines - I love my kitties ♥Film - I want to see 'The Pick of Destiny'Felt tip pens - they make me a good teacher, honestly =P *has fine line, normal, chunky and those little stampy ones to put happy faces and stars on the kids' work*Flounder - this is one of the 'Breed Apart figurines and I think it's really funny!! He's called Flounder in case you were wondering what I'm on about =P

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subota, 25.07.2009.

Ahahaha! Buckethead!

Hehe, got home today to find Butters with the teeniest bucket you ever did see on her head! I hadn't thought about that but of course she'd want to lick the stitches and that would be bad so - buckethead for her!!I also had loads of really random thoughts that were really weird like 'OMG this morning she had a womb and ovaries and now they're in a bin somewhere' and 'Since I left the house this morning someone has cut my kitty open and rooted around inside her'. Then the funniest thing happened. She keeps scratching to try to get it off and she's managed to a couple of times. She did have one disasterous attempt however ... bucketheadandfrontleg!!!Too cute!!! They used non-dissolving stiches even though they said they wouldn't so we have to go back in ten days. It looks a right russish job though. There's about three-quarters of a centimetre between two stiches at one point and the top part is sticking out way more than the bottom so you can see the some of the cross-section created when they cut into her. I don't know if you know what I mean by that but it seems high-risk as far as infection's concerned =/ Note to the squeamish ... look away now ...What do I know though *shrugs*

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utorak, 21.07.2009.

Hey guys, give me something to come back to!

Stolen word-for-word from sweetlydistinct because I'm lazy =PBecause I am pretty sure there are people who hate me.So go ahead let it all out. I don't care what you say about me. Or why the hell would I be posting this meme? I am sure there is someone on my f-list that hates me or would like to say something about me. So here is your chance. .........Have you had one of those days lately when you just scroll down your friends list and look at all the wonderful people you know... and wanted to smack a fair number of them? I'm sure you all know that every once in while, it's good to share your true feelings. It can be stress relieving, an opportunity to express true feelings while proving to be awfully amusing for those not taking part. And so, rising from the ashes is the traditional, yet ever time-killing Brutal Honesty Meme. Leave no throught unshared, no moron unwanked, no idiotic reply left without a searing, snarky retort. Have fun, children. It's time to get angry. .........Post this in your journal, asking your friendslist to respond with whatever they know about you. It can be as matter of fact as 'Your name is Bridget, you're 25 and attending Harvard.' to the absolute useless 'One Thursday, you tried to hop down a flight of stairs and you fell on your face'.

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ponedjeljak, 20.07.2009.

My poor brain

I've just gone through and cut a LOT of people. Sorry guys. I just need to clear my head and that had to start with removing people from my friends list whose posts I maybe shouldn't read. If you can't see the next post then I've cut you. Sorry again. Please don't ask to be added back unless you really think I've been unreasonable. I believe that none of you regard me as a good friend but if I have misread that then ask me to add you back. Don't just ask to be added because you like to read my journal or something. Take care ♥Edit: I am happy to make some posts public from now on so you guys can still keep up with stuff. If you want to keep me on your friends list in case I start adding back in a few weeks once I feel stronger then please do =]

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nedjelja, 19.07.2009.

boredd- its alissisas birthday <3

Take the quiz: "What girl Real World Charchter are you?"SarahUr wild n outgoiing ur reallipretty n u want 2 b the center of attention u think everything shuld be on ur but u tend 2 get ur feelings hurt alot n u lean 2 others about i..t ur secret crush is Mj..

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petak, 17.07.2009.

im bored

The Quick Kwiz
LJ Username Age: You are a MEAN GIRL
This cool quiz by angelhamsters - Taken 792 Times.New - Kwiz.Biz Astrology and Horoscopes

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četvrtak, 16.07.2009.

new

hey everyone i just got live journal again i was getting kinda bored so i had alissa delete it but now im back because i have been very bored lately today i hung out w. emily alissa and calli and we went to long beach to go ice skating but there was a game going on .. we didnt kno and then emilys mom left and we couldnt get in touch w. her so we were stuck in long beach alissas mom came and picked us up at starbux then we went back to her house and watched the sixth sense .. really good movie. then emily and calli went home and i stayed then i went home ate dinner and went to callis to hnag out w. her since she was babysitting we did her sisters hair im so tired right now tomm is alissas birthday or i should say today actually so im gonna go xox

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