RE-READ BINGE

Do you ever re-read books? I do! There are some that are like old friends. They have to be visited over and over and over again because they are so good and they are so comforting. Since January I have been re-reading some old friends.

I started with the TWILIGHT series. I usually re-read this one every couple of years, but this time around it was only a year since I read it.

My favorite in the series is the first one, TWILIGHT.

TWILIGHT: Bella and Edward meet. Bella finds out that Edward is a vampire. They fall in love, can't live without each other.

NEW MOON: Bella cuts herself on a gift in front of a bunch of vampires. Edward feels horrible and the Cullins move away. Bella can't function for months. Takes up a friendship with Jacob. Finds out Victoria(vampire) wants her dead from the Cullins killing James. Jacob turns into a wolf. Bella goes cliff diving. Edward thinks she is dead so he goes to the Volturi(Vampire court system) and asks to be killed. Bella goes to rescue him. Jacob hurt because Bella doesn't love him.

ECLIPSE: Victoria still trying to kill Bella. Edward being over-protective and won't let her go see Jacob. Vampire's and wolves join together to fight Victoria's army of newborns.

BREAKING DAWN: Edward and Bella get married, Jacob shows up to the wedding. Edward and Bella go on their honeymoon which is cut short because Bella gets pregnant. Edward wants Carlyle to get the creature out of Bella but Bella enlists the help of Rose to keep the baby. Jacob goes through torture watching Bella slowly die. Baby born, Bella turned into vampire, Jacob imprints. Volturi come to kill the Cullins for creating a newborn. Cullins gather friends to witness that baby is not one of them. All is well and everyone lives happily ever after!

This series is my guilty pleasure. I enjoy it, it is fluff and silly, but it is also a series I turn to when I want something familiar and comforting.

The next series I read was the O'Malley series by Dee Henderson. It is one of my all-time favorite series that I haven't read in about 5 years. The O'Malley's, brothers and sisters, not by birth, but by choice.

DANGER IN THE SHADOWS: This is really a prequel to the series. We are introduced to Dave and his sister Sarah. Sarah was kidnapped as a child and has been stalked ever since. When she meets Adam she has no hope for a relationship with him because of the security she must maintain. Dave is the head of her security team. After 25 years will Sarah finally remember something new to help catch her stalker? Her future is depending on it.

THE NEGOTIATOR: Kate O'Malley is a hostage negotiator. When she is called in to a hostage situation in a bank she is less than pleased when she sees that an FBI agent is hiding behind one of the desks. Sure that he will mess up her negotiations she is pleasantly surprised and entertained that he maintains his position and even helps her throughout the situation. Dave is impressed with Kate's ability to be calm in a hostage situation. Kate and Dave must work together throughout the book to figure out who is trying to ruin Kate's career. This is the book we learn about the O'Malley sister Jennifer having cancer.

THE GUARDIAN: Marcus O'Malley is the head of the O'Malley family. Anytime any one of them needs something Marcus makes it happen. Marcus is a Federal Marshall. On assignment to protect a group of judges, he is disgusted when one of the judges is shot while he's on duty. Marcus now must protect Shari and her family since she saw the shooter. Oh Marcus! I love his and Shari's story.

THE TRUTH-SEEKER: Lisa O'Malley is a forensic such-and-such(think BONES). She has a wicked sense of humor! Like sending Marcus's partner Quinn a squid in a petri dish to tell him no when he asked her out. After all, who wants to be the 3rd sister asked out? Lisa helps Quinn solve his father's murder.

THE PROTECTOR: Jack O'Malley is a firefighter and it seems that his shift is being targeted by an arsonist. After budget cutbacks and consolidations it seems that the arsonist has a bone to pick. Cassie has spent a year recovering from nearly being killed in a fire. Being the first on the scene of one of the arsonist's fires she thinks that she may have seen the arsonist and he looked familiar to her. No longer able to fight fires because of hearing loss from her accident Cassie is brought in to roll out with Jack's team to keep an eye out for the arsonist. I love Jack's care for Cassie!

THE HEALER: Rachel O'Malley is a trauma psychologist. She goes around with the Red Cross and helps people overcome tragedies. The book starts out with a murder and flood, then proceeds to a school shooting. Cole, who is Jack's boss and friend, is present helping Rachel through all of the tragedies that hit this community in such a short time. Rachel is not only dealing with all of the tragedy going on, but she is also dealing with Jennifer's dying. Yes, this is the book that Jennifer dies! I know it is coming every single time I read it, and it still makes me bawl my eyes out!

THE RESCUER: Stephen O'Malley is a paramedic. He's burnt out and he is buckling under that his sister Jennifer has just died. Stephen decides to travel around for a while. Not sure what he is looking for, he just knows he is tired of watching people die, tired of blood and tired of tragedy. Stephen's childhood friend Meaghan lives in Silverton. Tragically Meaghan lost her sight when she was run off the road several years before. Once Stephen decides to come back home to his family he settles in Silverton. While he was gone he kept in touch with Meaghan and he likes the idea of the smalltown life of Silverton.

I loved each one of the stories of the O'Malley's. Each one the author forces the characters to face their need for a Savior in their life. Each O'Malley had one struggle or another that kept them for a time seeing their need for a Savior, but throughout the series Jennifer prayed for each one of her siblings to know Jesus. I loved that! A wonderful series!

So these are the two series I have read since January. My next series is going to be The Californian series by Lori Wick. Yes, I am still on a re-read binge!