River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

It’s been thirteen years since Lucy Sheridan was in Summer River. The last time she visited her aunt Sara there, as a teenager, she’d been sent home suddenly after being dragged out of a wild party—by the guy she had a crush on, just to make it more embarrassing. Obviously Mason Fletcher—only a few years older but somehow a lot more of a grown-up—was the overprotective type who thought he had to come to her rescue.

Now, returning after her aunt’s fatal car accident, Lucy is learning there was more to the story than she realized at the time. Mason had saved her from a very nasty crime that night—and soon afterward, Tristan, the cold-blooded rich kid who’d targeted her, disappeared mysteriously, his body never found.

A lot has changed in thirteen years. Lucy now works for a private investigation firm as a forensic genealogist, while Mason has quit the police force to run a successful security firm with his brother—though he still knows his way around a wrench when he fills in at his uncle’s local hardware store. Even Summer River has changed, from a sleepy farm town into a trendy upscale spot in California’s wine country. But Mason is still a protector at heart, a serious (and seriously attractive) man. And when he and Lucy make a shocking discovery inside Sara’s house, and some of Tristan’s old friends start acting suspicious, Mason’s quietly fierce instincts kick into gear. He saved Lucy once, and he’ll save her again. But this time, she insists on playing a role in her own rescue . . . 
~~

I gotta give it to Ms. Krentz - somehow she manages to make her contemporary romances work for me, time and time again. River Road is a great example of how two smart people can get lost in an emotional mind field, especially when there is danger and intrigue to fog the path. Lucy and Mason might have an idea of what they're getting themselves into, investigating her aunts death and how exactly a body ended up in her fireplace, but there are so many players to consider that the obvious answer is rarely the right one. 

It results in a very interesting story, as Lucy and Mason have other needs to balance than the ones to urging them to heat up the sheets. Which they do. And it's great, lol. I like reading a mystery where the big bad isn't totally obvious, and despite a bit of character placement which indicated that a particular person might be more than they appear, Krentz does a great job weaving a complicated plot. 

Plus there's a great little scene from her next book, Otherwise Engaged, at the end!

Overall Feeling - A-

Series - None

Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this.

Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next.
~~

I'm so glad for the internets that help me remember series that I've loved but haven't gone back to in a while. J.D Robb/Nora Roberts' In Death series had been a staple of mine a long time, but somewhere along the line I guess I got distracted and stopped keeping up with each new release. Jumping back in by re-reading Innocent in Death then following it up with with this book has got me all excited to go back and read the ones I've missed - it's just that good.

This isn't a whodunnit mystery, the book actually starts out with the murderer, but writing it this way allows the characters themselves to shine throughout the story. Eve and Roarke have been through a lot by the time we reach the 37th book, but they're still committed to standing up for the people who've been victimized and for the love they share for each other. The killer might get a lot of lucky breaks (and I admit to being a wimp and flipping through some of the more violent scenes) but ultimately he gets his comeuppance and Eve and Roarke recognition for all the help they've given the people of New York.

Overall Feeling - A

Series - ....36) Calculated in Death 37) Thankless in Death

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris *HERE THERE BE SLIGHT SPOILERS*

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…
~~

The final Sookie Stackhouse book. I feel like there should be a drumroll or some suspenseful music to herald in this book, since it's been released with so much damn fanfare. Yes it's the end of a hugely popular series that has spawned a mostly hugely popular TV show. Are violence and death threats necessary? Absolutely not. They are never EVER necessary because you know whose book this is? THE AUTHOR'S. And she can damn well do whatever she wants with it.

Sigh.

The book itself in my opinion? Mediocre. It read as if Harris felt she needed to bring back every bad guy or suspicious character for one final showdown - or showdowns - and Sookie's personal story suffered for it. What you end up with are a lot of characters, a lot of unseen actions, and suddenly everything's just over. I was 80% of the way through when I realized that all of this other crap had gone down but Sookie was no closer to her HEA than before. Maybe it's my personal preference for romance, even/especially if its of the paranormal variety, but things ended up rushed and while I applaud Harris's choice to end her novel on a 'maybe' note instead of having Sookie jump in with both feet into another relationship, there could have been much more finality for all of the characters we've known and loved instead of all this 'whodunnit' stuff.

Overall Feeling - C+

Series - 11) Dead Reckoning 12) Deadlocked 13) Dead Ever After

Shadow Woman by Linda Howard

Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and makes a terrifying discovery: She doesn’t recognize the face she sees in the mirror. She remembers what she looks like, but her reflection is someone else’s. To add to the shock, two years seem to have disappeared from her life. Someone has gone to great and inexplicable lengths to keep those missing years hidden forever. But the past always finds a way to return.

Strange memories soon begin to surface and, along with them, some unusual skills and talents that Lizette hasn’t a clue about acquiring. Sensing that she’s being monitored, Lizette suddenly knows how to search for bugs in her house and tracking devices in her car. What’s more, she can elude surveillance—like a trained agent.

Enter a mysterious and seductive stranger named Xavier, who claims he wants to help—but who triggers disturbing images of an unspeakable crime of which Lizette may or may not be the perpetrator. With memories returning, she suddenly becomes a target of anonymous assassins. On the run with nowhere to hide, Lizette has no choice but to rely on Xavier, a strong and magnetic man she doesn’t trust, with a powerful attraction she cannot resist. As murky waters become clear, Lizette confronts a conspiracy that is treacherous and far-reaching and a truth that, once revealed, may silence her and Xavier once and for all.
~~

I don't know why when I was the one who chose to check out the book from the library it still takes me so long to read it. I guess there's some sort of unintentional bias against the book - if I didn't buy it I must not have wanted to read it *that* much right? Happily what started out as 'eh' finished as 'ah-mazing' and Linda Howard had me all involved in her work again :).

I'm sure there are some who don't like how it takes about half the book before Xavier and Lizette actually 'meet' meet, but I thought it worked for the plot. Lizette is being confronted with what seems like a life gone totally off its rocker and while Xavier might have more information he is still bound by the connections he has - things could go wrong really quickly. What Howard does instead is what she does best, having the two characters circle around each other, flirting with the edge of disaster (and some really spicy dreams!) until circumstances work themselves out enough to force them together. 

There are only a few sexy scenes so if you're looking for super hot this might not be for you but I loved it was actually really surprised with how the mystery worked itself out in the end. I thought I knew what was going on but Howard totally pulled the rug out from under me - definitely recommended! 

Overall Feeling - A

Series - None

Cold Days by Jim Butcher

After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…His soul.
~~

This might be a review I should save until my feelings are sorted out, but, guys, I have no idea when that will be. I love Harry Dresden - I love this series and the characters and the incredibly intricate world that Butcher has created but with this installment I say without shame that my heart hurt for pretty much everyone involved. 

Readers knew by the end of Ghost Story that things were not as they appeared, that Mab had kept Harry alive to fulfill the bargain he'd made with her but there's no way I could have predicted the way things turned out. For 2/3 of the book I happily went along with Harry, getting reacquainted with all my favorite characters and reading about him facing the consequences of his choice to attempt suicide-by-assassin. Emotions are ugly, complicated things and possibly the most poignant when when he comes face to face with his brother. Questions of choice, what makes a person a monster, both are hugely important to this installment and Butcher doesn't take the easy way out when contemplating the dark and light places inside each of us.

The heartbreaking part? The end. I can't really get into it without being too spoiler-y (I even had to give a warning during a Twitter convo with a friend) but I just can't believe how this ended. Peoples lives are forever changed and new enemies are revealed with even more grandiose powers and reach than usual. I will say that as much as I tried not to, I couldn't end this book without feeling a little disappointed in Murphy and her decisions. She is well aware that sometimes sh*t happens and I felt like she took the easier road rather than the one that could be more fulfilling.

I don't know what the heck's going to happen in the next book but I may make my friends read it first.

Overall Feeling - B+

Series - 11) Turn Coat 12) Changes 13) Ghost Story 14) Cold Days

Teaser....Friday?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


I was casting everything I had done, everything I believe, everything I had chosen- everything I was - against the will of an ancient being of darkness, terror, and malice, a fundamental power of the world. 

-- pg 317, Cold Days by Jim Butcher


Dana is currently unavailable as she is getting her mind BLOWN by Jim Butcher right now. She has no regrets. 

A Hundred Words for Hate by Thomas E. Sniegoski

As an angel, Remy possess powers and skill he puts to good use in his chosen profession - but only if the situation calls for it. And the sudden reappearance of the Garden of Eden is definitely one such situation.

He's approached by the seemingly benevolent Sons of Adam to find the Key to the Gates of Eden. But there are those who want the Gates to stay shut. For there is something terrible and dangerous buried in the Garden- and they'll do anything to see that it is not unearthed.

Now, caught between warring factions of immortals, Remy must decide how to proceed: Find the Key, or not? Desperate for help, he turns to a very old acquaintance: a fallen angel who is sometimes a friend, sometimes a foe- and always deadly.

~~

I have to give high marks to a series that's a fantastic read even when you start with book four. I found myself liking Remy from the beginning, the former Angel who's lost his feel for humanity. His wife had kept him grounded and connected to the world of men and when she died of cancer (which I don't consider a spoiler since it's revealed first thing) everything changed for Remy. When a former associate contacts him to find the key to the Gates of Eden it gives him the opportunity to feel excited once again about his job and humanity.

Initially I picked this up because it felt similar to Simon R. Green and his Nightside series but after finishing this book there are some very distinct differences. First the overall tone is not as 'horror-ful' as Green's world. Yes there is some pretty gruesome action, but pain and torture for the sake of pain and torture don't appear nearly as much. And of course one can't overlook the Christian mythology. Remy is an Angel, full stop, with the typical God created Angels then created Man back story. Any sort of Christian mythos that shows up in Nightside is a footnote (for the most part) to what else is going on - there are lots of  gods and goddesses to consider.

Either way I ended this book with excitement - I've found a new author :). I really like Sniegoski's style, his characters, and the way he mixes mystery and the paranormal. I definitely want to read the rest.

Overall Feeling - A-

Series - 1) A Kiss Before the Apocalypse 2) Dancing on the Head of a Pin 3) Where Angels Fear to Tread 4) A Hundred Words for Hate 5) In the House of the Wicked

P.S. - What the f*ck? I bought this used for half price and the SERIES IS 60% OFF ON AMAZON ($5.60). I'm a little bitter.

One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire

IN A KINGDOM BY THE SEA

Now that she's a member of the landed nobility, October "Toby" Daye is dealing with a whole new host of challenges—not the least of which is figuring out the limits of her newly-enhanced abilities. Still, it feels like she's finally getting a handle on her life. She has a boyfriend, a roommate, and even a squire. Things couldn't possibly get better...

...but they can get a whole lot worse. Someone has kidnapped the sons of Duchess Dianda Lorden of Saltmist, and to prevent a war, the Luidaeg is calling in all Toby's debts. Toby will need to be smarter, sharper, and quite possibly damper than ever before if she wants to come out of this in one piece—and the fight is getting more personal than she could have dreamed.

~~

This is gonna be another one of those reviews I'm afraid, those reviews where due to the amount of awesomeness the book contains I'm almost struck dumb. Please try and stay with me.

The October Daye books are just so good and yet so scary that I don't know what to do with myself with I read them! My heart beats really fast  and I get all stressed out but I'm so absorbed in the story and desperate to know what happens that I can't do anything else. In other words, I need to remind myself never to start these on a work night because it was at the root of a very tired day after only 5hrs of sleep.

I think it's the combination of how I think I know what's going on but I have no idea what's going to happen next. Since these books are urban fantasies the romance is not the central theme and a HEA is never guaranteed. You're just waiting around to see if McGuire pulls one out for Toby but you're never completely sure. This particular book had me laughing and crying and by the end of it I just wanted to the next one but I'm going to have to wait until September 2012! UGH!

This author is just as high up on my personal favorites list as Jim Butcher and Simon R. Green and I wholeheartedly recommend the series.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - 1) Rosemary and Rue 2) A Local Habitation 3) An Artificial Night 4) Late Eclipses 5) One Salt Sea

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn’t doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.
 

But being dead doesn’t stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has no body, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.
 

To save his friends — and his own soul — Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic…

~~

 This is a hard review for me to write, mostly because I'd love to just blab everything amazing and pertinent about this book all over the internets. BUT as that would most likely result in a pitchfork and torches carrying mob to come after me, I'll try to resist the urge and do this without spoilers.

If you haven't read Changes though you're about to be completely messed up because I can't talk about Ghost Story without addressing the obvious - Harry is dead and this is his ghost story. I love how Butcher maintained that the last book was not a cliffhanger, that instead it was the natural conclusion to everything that happened. Now I can't say whether I completely agree with how he's trying to spin it, but he's been very vocal that this is what Harry was fighting for; to protect his daughter even if it cost him his life - that it did was just sad. 

I was a little worried about Ghost Story because I wasn't sure how Butcher was going to swing the communication from the other side angle, if there would be rule and restrictions on who he could contact and how. Luckily he proved my fears groundless pretty quickly as he has Harry search out the one person who can help him contact the friends he left behind. From there it's got the same rapid plot development, soul searching, and action that makes each Dresden better than the last. And ultimately the mystery that's always been at the heart of these books is even more important in this one: who killed Harry and why? The question haunts (hah - haunts) the whole story and it's not answer till the very end. 

It's a great ending by the way, in case you were like me and concerned. Butcher definitely doesn't let you down and wraps things up so that it stays true to the series and Harry. I can't say much more without big huge spoilers, so we'll just leave it at that and I'll end by saying I think Butcher did the best thing he could with the story he has created, which is really all I can ask for.

In no way will this book will be as meaningful or amazing without the back story of the first 12 novels but it is amazing and I highly recommend it.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. 

Series - ...11) Turn Coat 12) Changes 13) Ghost Story

July in Review

Sometimes I worry that I'm slowing down with the number of books I read. Then I have to remind myself that I'm reading for PLEASURE and it's not a contest. I read and review and hope to do it a manner that's fun to read for other people, but it's ok for me to read less books one month than I have the previous.

Obviously I never got over the sense of competition instilled in me as a small child. Also, I wish I was back here:

But since I can't be, let's get onto the books shall we?

Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz

Secrets of the Highlander by Janet Chapman

Making Chase by Lauren Dane

Split Second by Catherine Coulter

Mystical Warrior by Janet Chapman

Chased by Lauren Dane

Savor the Danger by Lori Foster

Out of Control by Shannon McKenna

The Royal Mess by MaryJanice Davidson

The Search by Nora Roberts

Hot Night by Shannon McKenna

Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts

To Challenge a Dragon by G.A. Aiken

Read/Reviewed:

15/11

Challenge wise I'm pretty happy because I've finally been able to add a couple titles to my  Support Your Local Library Challenge. Same goes for the Romantic Suspense Challenge though I think I must have been out of my mind to think I was going to read 40 throughout the year. Oy. We'll see about that one.

Ghost of a Chance by Simon R. Green

Got ghost problems? You're in luck. The intrepid agents of the Carnacki Institute will investigate. They'll do whatever's necessary to take care of the problem, from convincing the ghost it's time to move on, to kicking its sorry ectoplasmic ass. Their best team is a three-person operation, capable of handling any problem. There's JC Chance, the leader; technogeek Melody Chambers; and drug-addled telepath Happy Jack Palmer. Between them, they have every eventuality covered.

Fresh off a job involving a haunted supermarket parking lot, the team is sent to deal with an extremely nasty incident originating in the Oxford Circus Underground station, an unprecedented event that's just the start of their worst adventure yet. Something ancient, alien, and powerful is threatening to break through down where the sun never shines, and it'll take everything the team has just to survive, much less succeed. And just to complicate matters, they have to deal with their evil counterparts from the Crowley Project, who believe the best opportunity is the one seized through force and blood. But when the chips are down and it's everyone for themselves, can the two teams work together? And who's going to tell JC Chance that falling in love with a ghost is a monumentally bad idea? (All of them, that's who.)

~~

I probably don't talk about it a lot, but Simon R. Green is hands down my favorite horror author. He writes these incredibly detailed and imaginative stories, with the type of world building that really lets you see everything with your mind's eye. In Ghost of a Chance I can see how the series is going to be another great creepy production. 

First let me say that this definitely has all the earmarks of a first book in a new series. There is a lot of explanation, a lot of character building. It's the kind of stuff that Green's already known for, but in this book you really get even more than usual. I don't think it's bad, this series just doesn't have the base that his John Taylor books do. JC, Happy, and Melody are new to us and what they do takes a bit more explanation. Though I do love the fact that it's still all taking place in and around the same world that we've been introduced to before. Something has to be going on in London outside of Nightside right? And this book shows us that. 

I know that doesn't tell you a whole but I do tend to prefer titles to stand for themselves. Take the blurb and my thoughts and go pick up this book from your local bookseller - it's a grand ride and a great beginning to a new series.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. 

Series - 1) Ghost of a Chance

A Hard Day's Knight by Simon R. Green

John Taylor is a P.I. with a special talent for finding lost things in the dark and secret center of London known as the Nightside. He's also the reluctant owner of a very special-and dangerous-weapon. Excalibur, the legendary sword. To find out why he was chosen to wield it, John must consult the Last Defenders of Camelot, a group of knights who dwell in a place that some find more frightening than the Nightside.

London Proper. It's been years since John's been back-and there are good reasons for that.

~~

If I had to pick just one horror series and call it my favorite it would have to be this one. Green in his Nightside books has created a creepy terrifying world that for me is really without equal. Often I read a book for the romance, the HEA that I know is waiting for me. When I read Green I know I'm going to get characters that scare the crap out of me and buildups to scenes that will make me want to read them from behind a blanket.

The best part about Green is the fact that he can sustain this level of suspense. Yes John might 'win' in the end but the amount of death and destruction that comes before it, the good men and women that might suffer at his hands or others, doesn't make it a clean victory. A Hard Day's Knight has a lot of great action and some personal development between John and Suzy that seriously made me go 'holy shit'. It's a great thrill ride and I highly recommend it. 

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - ... 8) The Unnatural Inquirer 9) Just Another Judgement Day 10) The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny 11) A Hard Day's Knight

Veil of Night by Linda Howard

Jaclyn Wilde is a wedding planner who loves her job - usually. But helping Carrie Edwards with her Big Day has been an unrelenting nightmare. Carrie is a bridezilla of mythic nastiness, a diva whose tantrums are just about as crazy as her demands. But the unpleasant task at hand turns seriously criminal when Carrie is brutally murdered and everyone involved with the ceremony is accusing one another of doing the deed.

The problem is, most everyone - from the cake maker and the florist to the wedding-gown retailer and the bridesmaids' dressmaker - had his or her own reason for wanting the bride dead, including Jaclyn. And while those who felt Carrie's wrath are now smiling at her demise, Jaclyn refuses to celebrate tragedy, especially since she finds herself in the shadow of suspicion.

Assigned to the case, Detective Eric Wilder finds that there's too much evidence pointing toward too many suspects. Compounding his problems is Jaclyn, with whom he shared one deeply passionate night before Carrie's death. Being a prime suspect means that Jaclyn is hands-off just when Eric would rather be hands-on. As the heat intensifies between Eric and Jaclyn, a cold-blooded murderer moves dangerously close. And this time the target is not a bride but one particularly irresistible wedding planner, unaware of a killer's vow.

~~

I've been a long time Linda Howard fan and this book is definitely no exception. It's not very modern of me I'm sure, but her type of alpha male has just the right amount of 'gruff business' to really appeal to me, especially when combined with her outspoken heroines. 

Additionally Howard's book usually have a great mystery or suspense element that separates them from other romances. Here Eric is the detective, forced to consider Jaclyn as a suspect in a murder, all why trying to find the real perpetrator and a no-strings-attached cup of coffee (read the book, those scenes are hilarious). Eric and Jaclyn have great chemistry and the sparks (evident from the way they give in soon after they meet) continue throughout and it's even more believable to me that way Jaclyn is pissed off and resistant after realizing that Eric considers her a suspect.

In the end readers are left with a good HEA with a bit of an obvious ending, but a lot of the time I don't mind that. The book wasn't a no brainer, but Howard leaves helpful hints along the way and you can put them together pretty easily. What stands out for me is that I don't care or feel like the ending's been ruined; this is a romance and that relationship is still the core of the novel and I'm fully engaged in that the entire time. I highly recommend this to new or old readers of Howard's work, because it's a perfect example of what she does best.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - None

An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire

HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON?

Everyone in the Bay Area knows about Blind Michael, the unseen, dangerous figure whose Hunt sweeps the Berkeley hills on full moon nights. He's a familiar hazard of life in the Kingdom of the Mists, and most people don't waste time worrying about him. October "Toby" Daye certainly doesn't. She has better things to worry about, like paying the electrical bill on time. So it's understandable that she'd be upset when Blind Michael suddenly starts taking an interest in people that matter to her, like the youngest children of Mitch and Stacy Brown.

Tasked to find the missing children, and with the stakes growing higher by the minute, Toby has few choices and fewer allies to help her through the dangers yet to come. With the Luidaeg's help and a candle to light her way home, there's a chance that she'll come through this latest danger...but the sudden appearance of her Fetch doesn't give Toby all that much in the way of hope...

~~

I have to say that this is rapidly becoming one of my favorite series. It took me a bit to put my finger on it, but I think it's got a lot to do with just how scary these books can be. McGuire does an incredible job taking the now popular urban fantasy genre and making it her own. These books are not copy cats of anything else - the characters are unique, their problems are even unique-er, and the bad guys scare the pants off me! It's the way she tells a story; I'm worried about Toby surviving, I'm worried about her friends surviving, I am worried that the ending isn't going to be a happy one!

Because with McGuire there isn't that feeling of a guaranteed happy ending. Bad shit is going to happen and her use of foreshadowing and linguistic clues just keeps me on the edge of the seat. With this latest book I found myself switching between wanting to know what came next and wanting to put the book down cause I was too afraid to find out! Toby going after Blind Michael is no joke; everyone's telling her she's got almost no chance, her Fetch has shown up as her own personal prediction of death, and there's almost no one who's going to be able/willing to even try to help!

I think this book is just an frightening and suspenseful as any horror movie and I think after you take a trip down memory lane with the first two books you're going to have a damn good time. Highly recommended!

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - 1) Rosemary and Rue 2) A Local Habitation 3) An Artificial Night

Tongue in Chic by Christina Dodd

NEW FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TROUBLE IN HIGH HEELS!

Devlin Fitzwilliam caught Meadow Szarvas red-handed, breaking into his mansion to steal a painting. In sheer desperation, she used a case of amnesia as her excuse. But then he pulled a fast one-and claimed she was his wife. Playing along was the only way for Meadow to get her hands on that painting. But what she doesn't realize is that Devlin has a hidden agenda too-and that someone's keeping an eye on them both.

I picked this up as a random library sale buy, really only because it was a romance I hadn't read before and it was cheap. Probably not the best reason to buy a book, but it worked out well this time!

I haven't read anything by Christina Dodd before, but if this book is indicative of her other work I feel like I'd enjoy them. Her book has the kind of fun character entanglement that keeps me excited right up until the end of the story - which is rarer than you'd think for contemporary romances. The fact that Devlin and Meadow are lying to each other literally from the moment they meet but still manage to finagle themselves around it enough to fall in love and solve a mystery I think says quite a lot about Dodd's ability as an author. In these kinds of situations I find that more often than not the hero becomes such a jerk that he's usually not someone I relate to and definitely not someone I want to get the HEA. This time Devlin is a character with enough depth, and enough good and 'bad' elements in his personality that you're rooting for him even when you're cursing his male stupidity. Meadow is just hippy child enough to be amusing and not irritating, though I guess I'm a sucker for strong females who kick the legs out from underneath stuck up old fogies.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. This book has a great protagonist pair, with neither Devlin or Meadow willing to budge an inch (at least initially) on what is important to them. Their persistence in talking around each others secrets while falling in love is both hilarious and romantic.

Series - 1) Trouble in High Heels 2) Tongue in Chic

Changes

"Then you know that Sam was the true hero of the tale," Sanya said. "That he faced far greater and more terrible foes than he should he ever should have had to face, and he did so with courage. That he went alone into a black and terrible land, stormed a dark fortress, and resisted the most terrible temptation of his world for the sake of the friend he loved. That in the end, it was his actions and his actions alone that made it possible for light to overcome darkness."

--pg 335, Changes by Jim Butcher


I am reading the new Dresden novel and I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT. It's so good my brain might explode and I'm not even done with it yet.

Thank you, Jim Butcher. Thank you.

Mean Streets by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green and More

The best paranormal private investigators have been brought together in a single volume—and cases don’t come any harder than this.

New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher delivers a hard-boiled tale in which Harry Dresden’s latest case may be his last.

Nightside dweller John Taylor is hired by a woman to find something she lost—her memory—in a thrilling noir tale from New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green.

National bestselling author Kat Richardson’s Greywalker finds herself in too deep when a “simple job” goes bad and Harper Blaine is enmeshed in a tangle of dark secrets and revenge from beyond the grave.

For centuries, the being that we know as Noah lived among us. Now he is dead, and fallen-angel-turned-detective Remy Chandler has been hired to find out who killed him in a whodunit by national bestselling author Thomas E. Sniegoski.

I originally read this anthology about a year ago when it came out as a trade paper (~$14). I'm a huge fan of Butcher and Green, but the other two authors were new to me and I don't like putting down that kind of money for something I couldn't be positive of. I haven't gone back and read through all of the stories again, so I can't speak to them at the moment, but I can say that for the mass market paperback price this book is worth it just for the first 2 stories. Butcher does an almost unmatched job of creating a complete story, start to finish, in the smallest of formats. I've written before how short stories can be hit or miss depending on an author's ability to handle the size limit, but for Butcher there's no problem. Harry returns to readers in this story trying to protect his friend Michael, no longer a holy knight, from a threat that's not at all the usual paranormal beastie. Getting the deeper glimpse into Michael's life and Harry's efforts to protect his friend make this a really great read that I'll come back to forever.

Green's story focuses on John Taylor working to help his latest client - a women who has no memory of the last day and wants to know why. Like all things in the Nightside, there is a rarely an innocuous reason for any weird thing that happens, so he's forced to push through various obstacles to find the truth. Even if the client doesn't want to know the truth anymore. Sufficiently creepy for anyone and a great combination with his noir detective act, this short story is a welcome addition to the series.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. I love Butcher's and Green's additions to the anthology, and their work alone makes this book worth the price.

Series - Various. Please see the author's individual websites for more information.

January in Review

Hey Everyone,

So I know this is a little late (darn you January!) but here's a list of the books I got through during the month. Most of them were good, though some were DEFINITELY better than others. Surprisingly enough, the ones that I enjoyed the best seem to be ones that I picked back up off myself after years of neglect. It goes to show you that sometimes the best trip to the library or bookstore can be done inside your own home - or through the homes of your friends. Just because I like owning the majority of the books I read doesn't mean that allowing yourself some 'shopping' time through your friends shelves won't result in wonderful things. You never know what you're going to find and keeping your mind open to new possibilities is never a bad thing!


Walk on the Wild Side by Christine Warren (eh)
Street Game by Christine Feehan (good)
The Royal Treatment by MaryJanice Davidson (great)
Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh (great)
What A Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken (great great!)
Guilty Pleasure by Lora Leigh (good)
The Family Way by Jayne Ann Krentz (good)
Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn (good)
Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan (great)
Got Fangs? by Katie Maxwell (great)
Come Up and See Me Sometime by Lucy Monroe (good)
Circus of the Darned by Katie Maxwell (great)
Heart Mate by Robin Owens (great)
Inked by Karen Chance, Yasmine Galenorn, etc. (great)
The Good, The Bad, and the Uncanny by Simon R. Green (good)
Bone Magic by Yasmine Galenorn (good)
Hunting Evander by Kim Knox (good)
Changing Perspective by Marilu Mann (ok)
Hot for the Reunion by Ann Jacobs (eh)
The Bad Widow by Barbara Elsborg (eh)
Her Very Special Robot by Ann Jacobs (double eh)
Taking Shape by Tielle St. Clare (great)
The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu (great)
Midnight's Daughter by Karen Chance (great)
Death's Mistress by Karen Chance (great)
Queen Sharon by Sala (great)
Night Game by Christine Feehan (great)

Flesh Circus by Liltih Saintcrow

The Cirque de Charnu has come.

They will clean out the demons and the suicides, and move on. As long as they stay within the rules, Jill Kismet can't deny them entry. But she can watch--and if they step out of line, she'll send them packing.

When Cirque performers start dying grotesquely, Kismet has to find out why, or the fragile truce won't hold and her entire city will become a carnival of horror. She also has to play the resident hellbreed power against the Cirque to keep them in line, and find out why ordinary people are needing exorcisms. And then there's the murdered voodoo practitioners, and the zombies.

An ancient vengeance is about to be enacted. The Cirque is about to explode. And Jill Kismet is about to find out some games are played for keeps...

Yay I'm not dead! Sorry for the absence readers - I've been dealing with house guests galore! (House guests, if you're reading this, it's not that I don't love you, it's just that you make me slightly too busy to be reading enough to write good reviews!) Anyway, what matters is that instead of rereading old stuff I finally finished something new! I think I've reviewed her books before, but it doesn't really matter for this one does it? Flesh Circus picks up where Redemption Alley left of, with Jill Kismet still fighting the good fight, trying to keep the monsters of the nightside from taking over entirely. I tried to be as committed to Saintcrow's Valentine series, but I think that Jill is just a much more compelling character, with enough twists, turns, and almost psychopathic tendencies to keep a reader interested for a good long while. And of course the types of bad guys that take center stage in these books are also what keep me coming for more. Hellbreed and Traders might be the usual, but Saintcrow manipulates what goes on them in such a way that you're never bored or feel like you know what's going to happen - in fact, it's quite the opposite. Often you feel like you're in the middle of an intricate mystery that has so many hidden components that you're never going to get out unless she shows you the way. But you never feel like you're not connected, so it's always fun to get to the end.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. It might have taken me a few days to get enough free time to read the book, but it was definitely worth the wait. A great paranormal series to have on your shelf!

Series - 1) Night Shift 2) Hunter's Prayer 3) Redemption Alley 4) Flesh Circus

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber (ARC Review)

Lucy Valentine is as smart as can be, as single as you can get, and so not qualified to run a matchmaking service. But when her parents temporarily step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it’s Lucy’s turn to step up and help out—in the name of love. Plus, her rent is due.

Here’s the problem: Lucy doesn’t have the knack for matchmaking. According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed by Cupid with the ability to read “auras” and pair up perfect couples. But not Lucy. Her skills were zapped away years ago in an electrical surge, and now all she can do is find lost objects. What good is that in the matchmaking world? You’d be surprised. In a city like Boston, everyone’s looking for something. So when Lucy locates a missing engagement ring—on a dead body—she asks the sexy private eye who works upstairs to help her solve the perfect crime. And who knows? Maybe she’ll find the perfect love while she’s at it…

This was another free read gotten through the nice folks at LibraryThing.com! I was really happy to get it, mostly because the book sounded right up my alley as a nice uncomplicated read and it was definitely that! A lot of people would probably classify this as a romance, and it is, but I think that it's even more of a fantasy fiction novel - almost Chic-lit, but not. I think it's Lucy herself that makes Truly, Madly a fun read, with her spunkyness and need to be doing something with her life. Plus, it's just a very unique twist to have a magical matchmaking family end up with a daughter that who, after getting struck by lightning, finds lost things but can't match up people. It's a quick read that does a great job of leading audiences into the next book. And just so you don't think I liked everything about this book, haha, rest assured that I was very annoyed at the very last page. Mostly because I hate when a character whose sole existence is to cause strife is deliberately brought back to wreck havoc - especially when another less annoying character could have been introduced instead.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. Read in less than 2 hours, it's a great way to spend an afternoon break.

Series - 1) Truly, Madly (Feb 2010) 2) Deeply, Desperately (Aug 2010)