Book #63 was Dark Angel, by Karen Harper, the 3rd book in the Maplecreek Amish Trilogy. The back of the book reads:
A dark secret hides in the heart of Maplecreek’s Amish community.One morning Leah Kurtz goes to wake her adopted infant daughter and instantly knows something is terribly wrong. She is convinced that her baby has been switched with another child. Afraid that no one will believe her, Leah turns to an unlikely ally, despite the fact that her Amish community frowns on its members seeking help in the outside world.Dr. Mark Morelli studies the genetic illnesses that plague the Amish, but he has other, private reasons for coming to Maplecreek . . . reasons that may be tied to the mysterious disappearance of Leah’s daughter. Together, Leah and Mark must uncover a conspiracy — before there are deadly consequences.
This was July’s book of the month in the club I’ve joined. I’d read the first, but not the second, in this trilogy but I don’t really feel like I missed much. The book was quite good. I would read more with these characters. I’d like to know how things turned out when life returned to normal.
Book count: 63
Pages in book: 400
Page count: 25,351
Words in book: 86,872
Word count: 7,250,579
Book #64 was Narcissus in Chains, the 10th book in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. The back of the book reads:
With the highly acclaimed Obsidian Butterfly, Laurell K. Hamilton’s vampire hunter, Anita Blake, came into her own. She survived a supernatural onslaught unlike any she had ever faced before – and she did it without the two men in her life.
Now, six months have passed since Anita has seen either Jean-Claude or Richard. Six months of celibacy. Six months of indecision. Six months of danger. For her body carries the marks of both vampire and werewolf, and until the triumvirate is consummated, all three remain vulnerable.
But when a kidnapper targets innocents that Anita has sworn to protect, she needs all the help she can get. In an earth-shattering union, Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard merge the marks – and melt into one another. Suddenly, Anita can harness both their powers. She can feel their hearts…hear their thoughts… know their hungers…
Nothing can save Anita from the twist of fate that draws her ever closer to the brink of humanity – to finally surrender to the bloodlust, the beast, and the desire transforming her body and consuming her soul…
FINALLY. Do you know how long I’ve been trying to get ahold of this book without actually having to go out and buy it? (Okay, so Scott technically bought it) This was the one hole I had in the series, and it’s probably the book most important to this later portion, because it has the first appearance of the ardeur. I still have mixed feelings about the direction of the series, yet I read them like I’m starving. Apparently she’s doing something right!
Book count: 64
Pages in book: 656
Page count: 26,007
Words in book: 218,454
Word count: 7,469,033
Book #65 was Danse Macabre, the 13th book in Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. The back of the book reads:
“It was the middle of November. I was supposed to be out jogging, but instead I was sitting at my breakfast table talking about men, sex, werewolves, vampires, and that thing that most unmarried but sexually active women fear most . . .”
These days, Anita Blake is less interested in vampire politics than in an ancient, ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages: she may be pregnant. And, if she is, whether the father is a vampire, a werewolf, or someone else entirely, she knows perfectly well that being a Federal Marshal known for raising the dead and being a vampire executioner, is no way to bring up a baby.
The only problem I had with this book is that all of the conflict was basically internal. Sure, there were a lot of power struggles with various other vampires, but no big bad guy. I miss the big bad guy. The sex in this one didn’t bother me as much — I think she managed to tone it down a bit.
Book count: 65
Pages in book: 496
Page count: 26,503
Words in book: 250,818
Word count: 7,719,851
1,000,000 words surpassed — 2/2/06
2,000,000 words surpassed — 2/14/06
10,000 pages surpassed — 3/10/06
3,000,000 words surpassed — 3/16/06
4,000,000 words surpassed — 4/3/06
5,000,000 words surpassed — 5/30/06
50 books surpassed – 6/12/06
20,000 pages surpassed — 6/29/06
6,000,000 words surpassed — 6/29/06
7,000,000 words surpassed — 7/21/06