Sometimes You Just Have to Buy a New Book!

So far this month I've only purchased three books. Of course I'll most likely end up with a few more. Here are the synopsis for each one:

1) What is the Bible? By Rob Bell

Rob Bell, the beloved author of Love Wins and What We Talk About When We Talk About God, goes deep into the Bible to show how it is more revelatory, revolutionary, and relevant than we ever imagined—and offers a cogent argument for why we need to look at it in a fresh, new way.
In Love Wins, Rob Bell confronted the troubling questions that many people of faith were afraid to ask about heaven, hell, fate, and faith. Using the same inspired, inquisitive approach, he now turns to our most sacred book, the Bible. What Is the Bible? provides insights and answers that make clear why the Bible is so revered and what makes it truly inspiring and essential to our lives.
Rob takes us deep into actual passages to reveal the humanity behind the Scriptures. You cannot get to the holy without going through the human, Rob tells us. When considering a passage, we shouldn’t ask "Why did God say . . .?" To get to the heart of the Bible’s meaning, we should be asking: "What’s the story that’s unfolding here and why did people find it important to tell it? What was it that moved them to record these words? What was happening in the world at that time? What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God was at that time?" In asking these questions, Rob goes beyond the one-dimensional question of "is it true?" to reveal the Bible’s authentic transformative power.
Rob addresses the concerns of all those who see the Bible as God’s Word but are troubled by the ethical dilemmas, errors, and inconsistencies in Scripture. With What Is the Bible?, he recaptures the Good Book’s magic and reaffirms its power and inspiration to shape and inspire our lives today. (Via Harper Collins website).

2) Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

Riordan takes the classic guide to Greek myths and makes it his own, with an introduction and narration by beloved character Percy Jackson. With 19 chapters, this oversize hardcover includes a variety of stories, from the early tales of Gaea and the Titans to individual tales of gods readers encounter in the "Percy Jackson" series (Hyperion), such as Ares, Apollo, and Dionysus. Percy's irreverent voice is evident from titles such as "Hera Gets a Little Cuckoo," "Zeus Kills Everyone," and "Artemis Unleashes the Death Pig," and the stories are told in his voice with his distinctive perspective ("Another guy who got a special punishment was Sisyphus. With a name like Sissy-Fuss you have to figure the guy had issues…"). The format and illustrations are fairly traditional, considering the tone, featuring painterly depictions of the gods and their world. While these are actual tales of Greek mythology, Percy's take adds more color than would be helpful for those working on research projects or reports. The stories do make for fun reading, however, and might work as starting points for schoolwork. This original and wildly entertaining spin on Greek mythology is bound to be popular among fans of the series (from Amazon).

3) Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed in Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows, the sequel to the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Lady Midnight. Lord of Shadows is a Shadowhunters novel.
Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?
And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late (from Amazon).

First Impressions.....Night Pleasures (Dark Hunter # 2) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Here is the blurb from the back for the book (Goodreads.com):

The Dark-Hunters are ancient warriors who have sworn to protect mankind and the fate of the world is in their hands. . .

 He is solitude. He is darkness. He is the ruler of the night. Yet Kyrian of Thrace has just woken up handcuffed to his worst nightmare: An accountant. Worse, she's being hunted by one of the most lethal vampires out there. And if Amanda Devereaux goes down, then he does too. But it's not just their lives that are hanging in the balance.  Kyrian and Amanda are all that stands between humanity and oblivion. Let's hope they win. 

First Impression after reading three chapters:

Okay, so I am a fan of J.R. Ward's Blackdagger Brotherhood series, and over the time I have been reading those someone always mentions this series. So at the end of 2015, I read the Manga's based on the series. You know just to get a feel on whether or not I may enjoy these books. Well the story was interesting enough that I went out and purchased the first three books in the series (used) from Acorn Books. I think that it is important to note that I am also speeding up my reading experience by using an audio book. A technique I found really helpful when I was reading the All Souls Trilogy. 

Well, with Kenyon also filing a lawsuit against Cassandra Clare for ripping off her characters and ideas I decided it was time to start them; because I truly wanted to be able to dissect the claims that the stories are similar. 

So now that we have the reasons why I am reading this text out of the way...let's get down to business. After three chapters, I have mixed feelings about the book. Kyrian is everything I expect in a paranormal romance; however, I feel like he is a little to "pretty" and is missing the edge and grit that I seem to love about Ward's Blackdagger Brothers. Of course, I am pretty much still in the beginning of the story so he may grow on me. Also, the actor that reads the audio's take on Kyrian kind of throws me. Since it's a woman the male voice is almost soft, not at all "manly". That could also be what's throwing me off. Right now the book is following the manga very closely. Which is a good thing if you want skip reading the novel. (Not that I would advocate for that.)

While the novel is funny, and characters very interesting. The mentions of sex can be a bit much. It's almost as bad as Ana Steele (character by E.L. James) and that "inner goddess" of hers. Hopefully it will not be the same way through every book; because if so I will find myself not reading the series. Not because the romance is to much but because it's not sexy and honestly is extremely poorly written to the point that it's tacky. I know that's a bit mean. But I feel that it's best to be honest. As of right now I am giving the books a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Hopefully that rating will change by the end of my reading experience!