Elijah David

In the past, I've made no secret of my appreciation for Dan Wells's John Cleaver series of novels. You can read my reviews of books three and four here and here , respectively. Over Your Dead Body  picks up months down the road from The Devil's Only Friend.  John and Brooke are on the road and on their own, hiding from both the FBI and the Withered. Using the memories deposited in Brooke's mind by the Withered Nobody and information gathered by FBI agents over the preceding years, they have been tracking down Withered one by one. Now, they're down to only a handful of Withered that Brooke (and her myriad personalities that came with Nobody's memories) can lead them to. Their path takes some unexpected twists and turns, including the reappearance of a personality John never thought he'd see again: his girlfriend, Marci. Her memories came to Brooke along with all the others Nobody possessed, and the chance to have her in his life again is a temptatio...

I'm picking this tag up from Paper Fury , who picked it up from other blogs. Chocolate Chip: Classic Book That You Love Dracula, Treasure Island, Pride and Prejudice, The Hunchback of Notre Dame Thin Mints: A Hyped-Up Book You Want To Read The Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik Shortbread: An Author You Can’t Get Enough Of C. S. Lewis, Jim Butcher, J. R. R. Tolkien, Naomi Novik, Megan Whalen Turner  Samoas: An Emotional Rollercoaster A Monster Calls  by Patrick Ness, Changes by Jim Butcher, I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells Oreos: A Book Whose Cover Was Better Than The Story The Golden Compass  by Phillip Pullman Gingerbread Cookies: Where The Story Was Better Than Its Cover Till We Have Faces  by C. S. Lewis, The Secret of NIMH/Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH  by Robert C. O'Brien (I have the movie tie-in edition and it's not...

I've previously written about my love for Dan Wells' John Cleaver books, specifically the third in the series, I Don't Want to Kill You . I finally picked up book 4 (after saying recently that I probably wouldn't get to it till later this year; my reading muse is a fickle beast) and let me tell you: Dan Wells (still) isn't pulling any punches. After reading the novella/short story "Next of Kin" that (sort of) bridges the two John Cleaver trilogies, I wasn't expecting this book to pick up where it did. John has left Clayton to work with the FBI in tracking down the Withered -- the demons of the previous books -- but life isn't all that great. He doesn't actually get to kill the Withered, which means that his usual routine of getting to know a Withered's weakness and then put them down is disrupted, providing him with all of the build-up and none of the release. What's more, his teammates don't exactly see him as trustworthy,...

Back in January I listed the books in my TBR pile/shelf that I was most looking forward to reading. This month, I'm going to update that list because a) I have read a few from that list and b) my reading desires change with the hour. Cold Days by Jim Butcher Now that I've read Changes and Ghost Story (and have given myself some time to recuperate), I'm ready to dive into the next Dresden Files book. I'm really interested to see where the series goes after the stunning duo that was books 12 and 13. A Report from Group 17 by Robert C. O'Brien This is the last book in the O'Brien read/watch series, and I've partly been holding off on it because after this, there will be no more new-to-me O'Brien books. Yes, there are the NIMH sequels written by his daughter, but still. I'm going to read it because I need to finish the series, but please don't be upset if it takes me a little longer. The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams I t...

Since I love to read, my Christmas wish lists usually involve at least a few books. This year, I received 6 books for Christmas, with a few extras thrown in due to gift cards and post-Christmas shopping. Most of those are on this list, and a few more are just books on my shelves I want to dive into soon. Changes by Jim Butcher I finished Turn Coat  and wanted to dive into this book immediately, but held back because I felt I should finish one of the other books I was reading first, and because I didn't want to finish it before I received Ghost Story  for Christmas. Ghost Story by Jim Butcher Yeah, I basically want to binge read the rest of the current books in the Dresden Files series because I love these books so much. No, I don't think the title bodes well for anyone involved. Cold Days by Jim Butcher Without letting myself get spoiled too  badly on what comes, there's no way this doesn't involve Mab and the Winter Court. Skin Game by Jim B...

As the year draws to an end, I thought I would use this month's ThrowBook Thursday to look back on the books that I've enjoyed the most this year. If I've written about the book, I'll link to the post in its description. If not, I'll rave about it a bit. (For the sake of fairness, I'm not considering books that I read for a second or more time this year, else this would be a list of old favorites.) The Chestnut King by N.D. Wilson The finale of the 100 Cupboards series. I'll be writing a full review soon, but suffice it to say that this book was immensely satisfying. Turn Coat by Jim Butcher I haven't written about my love for this series much, which I hope to rectify in the coming months. I have mentioned it here , here , and here . Turn Coat is the eleventh book in the series, which currently stands at 15 novels, one short story collection, and several graphic novels. A further collection and novel are due out in the next year or two, ...

I recently read the third of Dan Wells' John Cleaver mysteries, I Don't Want to Kill You . It was so good I wanted to share my thoughts at more length than my quick review on Goodreads . Beware, this is a spoiler-heavy review. Picking up the story shortly after Mr. Monster ended, I Don't Want to Kill You  finds John anticipating the arrival of Nobody, the demon he called at the end of that book. He's done the demon tracking-hunting-slaying thing twice now, so he must be an expert, right? Except Nobody hasn't shown her face yet, and John is getting antsy. Then the infamous serial killer the Handyman migrates from Georgia to North Dakota, and John thinks maybe Nobody is  the Handyman. Either that, or she is working with the Handyman, using one of her demon compatriots to distract John from his mission: killing her and the other demons like her. Not only is John's demon hunting not going quite as planned, but his social life (never the best, due to the w...

This was originally going to be a Top 10 Tuesday, and then I realized I didn't quite have 10 books for the list, so it's a special Monday Musings where I anticipate the books I'm most looking forward to being released this year. Beren and Luthien by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien This one's not new in the sense of being new material so much as it is collecting all the previously published material on this iconic couple into a single volume. This makes me very very happy because The Silmarillion is amazing as a whole, but Beren and Luthien's story is one of a handful to actually get several mentions in The Lord of the Rings . Even Sam knows about Beren taking the Silmaril from Morgoth. Just saying. Releasing May 4 The Heart of What was Lost by Tad Williams This is a bridge novella to set up the trilogy The Last King of Osten Ard and follow-up the original Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn . I loved the original trilogy, and I've been waiti...