Kiss of Frost

I finished Kiss of Frost, the second book in Jennifer Estep's young adult Mythos Academy series last night, and I very much enjoyed it. The first book came to me as an ARC at work, and I wasn't sure how seriously to take it based purely on the description. I'm a huge fan of her Elemental Assassin series, though, so I gave it a try. The Mythos books feel a little lot like a comic book universe, and that's no surprise given that the author has penned a superhero series as well. This is a fresh and interesting take on legends living in the modern world. Just as in her Elemental Assassin books, Estep has blended unexpected elements of world mythology with the technology age. Amazons and Vikings train at the Academy to fight against the Reapers, evil warriors devoted to freeing Loki from his eternal prison.

Gwen Frost is a Gypsy girl, gifted with psychometry (the ability to divine history, emotions and more through touch), but cursed with puny human strength and stamina in a school where most of the other students might bench press small cars. She's learning a little more about herself and her power, however, and she just might make it in this new and frightening world after all. There's a juicy bit of romantic drama at the core of the second book, plenty of wry humor, and a new, terribly daunting challenge for Gwen in future installments. I can't wait. :) 

Plum Crazy

Forgive the pun. But really, I did go a little crazy. Sometimes, when I start a series.... I can't stop until it's over or I run out of published books. It was so with Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Novels. Customers and coworkers have been trying to cajole me into reading these books for years. And then heard about the movie, and I saw the trailer and thought it might be a movie I'd like to see... and you can't see the movie first. The book is always better. You have to read the book first. So I did.

Two weeks later, I finished the very recently published Explosive Eighteen. Okay. Go back, and take a look at that sentence.

"Two weeks later, I finished the very recently published Explosive Eighteen."

I am not estimating. Two weeks, to the day, is how long it took me to read all eighteen novels and even one of the holiday novelas. Eighteen and a half books, in fourteen days. I couldn't stop. In my defense, I was recovering from a minor but hindering injury during those two weeks. However, I would be lying if I let anyone believe that I actually did anything useful like, say homework, during those fourteen days. I was addicted. I kind of still am.

These books are freaking hilarious. I kind of want to be a bounty hunter now. It's on my list right after circus performer, and right before werewolf. For real. I would rather be Stephanie Plum than a werewolf.  What? It could be an option. Science advances every day. But about the books... Funny. So funny. You know those books that make you laugh out loud in public places, and then people look at you like you're goofy? These are those books. Who even cares what those people think? They need to read more funny books.

Five of five toes to the whole series. <3

Since I Locked Myself in the Store....

I guess I'll write a blog post for Jenn whilst I await the Mighty Tallest and her keys. :D

So. Um. Where to start? I've read several books since I posted last. I've begun and not yet finished several more.... I'm busy lately and it's as though my noggin just can't focus long enough to finish a whole book.

I did read and finish Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush book 3). Loved it, as usual. I am yet again pleased by Patch's ability to retain his undeniable bad boy attitude after he falls for the girl. So many bad boys turn to goo after that fateful, true-love-finding chapter. Not so with Patch. :) He is still rather naughty. So I'm still reading. Another thing I love about this series? Nary a love triangle to be found. Sure, Nora's friends with Scott and he's probably nursing a crush for her. But Norah knows what she wants, and they seem ready to remain friends without too much complication. I appreciate the saved drama. While I was thinking of giving this one only four of five toes, I think I'll go ahead and make it five. Patch wins the book an extra toe in the prologue when he beats the bloody hell out of Nora's (oh so deserving) dad. Reading it actually made me cringe, so it deserves points for unexpected badass-ery.

And also, Kitty's Big Trouble, a Kitty Norville novel by Carrie Vaughn. I've been a big fan of this series from the start, but for some reason this installment didn't get me quite as excited as previous installments have. I kind of missed Kitty's pack, I think. And it felt a bit like Kitty is loosing steam. Not that any normal person wouldn't. I did enjoy the Chinese culture and mythology that was at the core of this book, even if it kind of clashed a little with the vampire hunting cowboy beginning. So, um.... I liked it okay. It wasn't my favorite in the series, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me either. I'll still pick up the next book when it's out. 3.5 of 5 toes.

Also, I finally read The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff. Squee? So good. So creepy. So bone chillingly perfect for this time of year. The Replacement is a story about a changeling, living in a town where children sometimes mysteriously die. The town is rarely subject to any other hardships, but losing children is hardship enough. So our changeling protagonist spends his life trying to stay away from iron (not easy in this day and age) and trying to blend in because standing out could be deadly. Raised among humans, he is less than sympathetic to the plight of the creatures who abandoned him as an infant. His fight to save a little girl's life, to do what is right and not what is easy, is touching and compelling. The prose is lyrical and eerie throughout, making you feel like you're walking in a misty world full of deadly iron right beside him. Fans of Holly Black and Melissa Marr will enjoy this dark take on Faerie lore. 5 of 5 toes.



And now for the bit about Turtle Reading.

"What is Turtle Reading?" you ask. Why, I'll tell you. Turtle Reading is reading so slowly that people ask "Aren't you finished with that book yet?" and you have to answer shamefacedly, "I'm only on Chapter 14.... of 75......"

"How long have you been at it, now?" Your querulous assailant will enquire.
"Only three months," you'll reply.

This is me, reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Bit by bit, chapter by chapter, I am creeping my way through this book. Part of me does not want it to end. Part of me wants to take it in in slow motion. It's that kind of book. There are secrets and possibilities braided into every sentence, and I am enjoying picking each one apart. It's a book I want to nibble at, slowly, to better enjoy the flavor. It's not the first time I've taken so long to read a book. But with perhaps the exception of Eragon (which I found to be very slow and dull through the first half of book one), it is the only one of its kind that I think I'll actually finish some day.

I kind of want to live at the Night Circus. I'm dressing in all black and white in homage this Halloween. I think when I finish, I'll probably start it over again, to gather up the loose bits that I missed. I want to recommend it to everyone I see and talk to, but I just don't have enough faith in the general public's taste. And, too, I live and work in Griffin. So, you know... there's that. But! Jenn, I have faith in your taste, and you have to have to have to read it. :) Even though I haven't finished it, I give it all the kitten toes in the known universe.

Another book I'm inching my way through, though not as slowly, is The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan. This is hardcore, noire horror movie (the old school kind that were really scary and not just gross) grit with a truly monstrous anti-hero protagonist. Even when I'm not certain I'm reading a "scary part" it's giving me chills. Also, the book trailer (follow the link above to see it) is kind of nifty with all the creepy anagrams it reveals. Perfect Halloween read. Read it in the dark while it rains and thunders outside for maximum atmosphere. :) 5 of 5 toes (even if I'm not quite finished yet.)

And now, it's 1:00 AM (I'm home by the way. Not still stuck in the shop without my keys, thank the Tallest.) so I'm off to bed. Or maybe just off to Twitter, if I'm honest. But off to do something a little more mindless. <3

OMG

Jenn,

As you are... like... my only reader, I will do anything to keep you reading. :D New post tonight! I swear!
I'll be reviewing the new Hush, Hush book, new Elemental Assassin, lamenting the fact that Aloha from Hell is not out till Tuesday, and ...... oh wait. No. No Elemental Assassin tonight. Unless I manage to finish it. Which I may. Um.... New Kitty Norville instead. Finished that. Also! Expounding on the virtues of turtle reading certain fantastical-abulous books.

But now, I must return to work.

<3

Early Fall Reading

    I have to be the most unobservant person in the world, or at least the most forgetful. I read two books this week that have been on my list of books to read for a while now; Jinx by Meg Cabot and Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie. I either didn't know, or had forgotten that Jinx was about a girl who might be a witch, or maybe just really unlucky. And then Maybe This Time is a ghost story. Which I remembered, but I guess wasn't taking seriously. After reading them both, I kind of felt sorry that I didn't save them for October reading. But just kind of.


    Jinx is the story of Jean, a girl fleeing Iowa and a relationship gone bad. Sent to live with her aunt and uncle in NYC, Jean has a little trouble adjusting to her new life and to her cousin Torrence who is nothing like the girl she last saw five years ago. Things do not improve when Jinx befriends Tory's long time crush and refuses to join Tory's "coven." Tory mistakenly thinks that she is the great witch of the generation foretold by their ancestor, Bronwyn. It quickly becomes obvious that the real power is Jinx, and not her cousin, and Tory will go to any lengths to steal the power that is Jinx's birthright. It's a fun story with a little bit of spooky flavor. Five of six toes. :)

    Maybe This Time is a little like The Haunting mixed with High Spirits. Spooky for real, but still fun. I actually felt myself getting a little bit creeped out reading it late at night in a quite, dark house. I am maybe a bit of a wimp when it comes to these things. Subtlety frightens me much more than gore and screaming apparitions ever can. A rocking chair that rocks on its own? Chill inducing. Exorcism-esque horror scenes? Not a bat of an eye. Maybe This Time is definitely subtle. The ghosts haunting Archer House and the two young orphans who live there, don't even become openly hostile until the end. But they don't need to be hostile to be creepy as hell. The only thing that kept me from turning on extra lamps is that I feel confident that I've developed a camaraderie with the ghost in my own home. I trust "my" ghost, and after several years of cohabitation I'm not afraid of it anymore. (I am totally serious. I believe in ghosts. Don't you?)

    But the story isn't all ghosts all the time. There is a nice, steamy romance simmering on the back burner, a sweet story about the children finding family and learning to trust again, and plenty of lighthearted elements that keep the story firmly out of the horror genre. A horde of family, friends, journalists, and paranormal professionals that descend on the haunted house to either help or hinder provide a great helping of comic relief.

   Another great thing about Maybe This Time? Every time you think it's over, you discover that it really isn't. There's a double surprise ending that will have you hoping for a sequel. (And while there is no publication date, it looks like there might be just such a story in planning stages.) I've never read any of Jennifer Crusie's work before this, but I'm definitely going to pick up a few more of her books. I thoroughly enjoyed Maybe. Six toes!

Ghost Story!

Squee!

I have but two comments to make regarding book 13 of The Dresden Files.

1.) .... I freaking knew it!

and 2.) It was everything I hoped it would be. With the reasonable exception of including Book the 14th in some hidden, magical pocket at the back of the book.


If you haven't read the earlier Dresden Files books, what the Hades are you doing sitting at your computer reading this? Go! Make haste to the nearest bookstore and purchase Storm Front! You will not regret it. Trust me. I do this for a living.

Overbite

When I become an internationally famous, time-traveling ukulele star.... (Why are you snickering? It could happen.) the memoirs of my zany, musical, non-chronological escapades will be ideally captured in ink on papyrus by the ever amusing Meg Cabot. She is my favorite brain-goo remedy author. You know those times when you need something to suck you in, let you be some place else and reset your equilibrium? Make you laugh, gasp and completely fall into the pages? Meg does that for me. I heart her for it. As if the publishing gods knew I would be in need, Overbite arrived just in time to distract me from a pet tragedy.

For those who have not read the preceding novel, Insatiable, which set the stage for Overbite, let me just say that this is not the same vampire novel you read last week. And the week before that. Insatiable centers around Meena Harper, writer for an aging soap opera (Insatiable) and psychic seer of all her aqquaintances' causes of death. Oh. And her new love interest, the Prince of Darkness. There are tongue in cheek references to the current vampire popculture craze, made by Meena, vampire hunters and even vampires. So.... Yes, it's a book about vampires. But it's kind of a book about how silly our fascination with vampires is as well. And sure, Meena's in love with the number one vampire hottie in the world. But does that mean she's going to let him kill her to "protect" her, or chow down on her neck when he gets a bit peckish? Not so much. A girl has to draw the line somewhere doesn't she?

At the end of Insatiable, Meena has made certain decisions about her relationship with her vampire love. In Overbite, we see the consequences and effects of those decisions and of Meena's faith that we are all worth trying to save. These two books are a couple of my favorite additions to the vampire genre. So much so that I'll keep them on my shelf for re-reading. My only regret is that I've finished them so soon.

Six of six toes. :)

Uncommon Criminals

  Uncommon Criminals was voraciously devoured in a single night. I was late to work the next morning, but it was very much worth it.

     Ally Carter writes seriously smart kids. I love that. She balances the lack of emotional knowledge --that can only be gained with time and experience-- with intelligence and professional competence and proficiency that seems quite authentic in a modern age like ours. Isn't it funny how ten year old kids can do more with computers than their parents? It is much the same with this band of teens brought up in a family of thieves. They have inherently absorbed skills and knowledge that rivals, and at times even surpasses, that of the adults around them. Kids/Teens/Young adults are smart, capable and just plain awesome. Thanks to Ally Carter for highlighting that when everyone else is busy warning kids about the "Real World" and everything they don't know yet.

     Six of six toes. :) If you haven't read the first book, Heist Society, I highly recommend it as well.

So Silver Bright ARC Contest

Check out this super cute contest for an ARC of So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev.  Looks like a lot of fun. I can't wait to see the winning entries. They are bound to be adorable!

(The Rules as posted on the author's website):

You have to obtain photographic proof of the existence of fairies. Now, it might look like that fairy is false (a doll, a charm, a music box) but WE know that's just their wiley magic at work. Look in all the usual places: in a garden, in a tree, in a pie... Perhaps you might need to set a fairy trap with cupcakes as bait. With patience and cunning, you should be able to snap a picture of Peaseblossom or her friends!

Once you have your photo:

• Post it on your blog, your Facebook page, or your Twitter stream (bonus entries in the random drawing for doing all three!) with a link to this contest and the Théâtre Illuminata website.
• Email me ( lisa at lisamantchev dot com ) with the subject header THE GREAT FAIRY HUNT and include link(s) to your photographic evidence.
• Deadline is midnight, Wednesday, June 8th.
• Contest open worldwide, but please note if you are an international entry in your email.
• Winners will be chosen by a panel of photomythological experts by Friday, June 10th
• Original material only. Please do not yoink a picture off the internet and claim it as your own or the fairies will hunt you down and poke you with pokey things.

But perhaps you are unsucessful in your hunt for a fairy. YOU CAN STILL WIN AN ARC. If you post the details of this contest and link back to it on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter account, you will also be entered into the random drawing. Same email address and subject header as above, and please include links to the places you've posted.  :)

Graveminder

Graveminder, by Melissa Marr (of Wicked Lovely fame), is so incredibly creepy. I almost wish I had saved it for October. Almost. This is not your done, and redone supernatural novel. This is a new one you haven't read before. This is one you might have had a scary dream about but couldn't quite remember in the morning. It's like the Corpse Bride meets Sleepy Hollow with a lot more secrets. The land of the dead that exists in Graveminder really does remind me of the Corpse Bride... only without all the rotting and the worms and spiders. It's a more elegant and considerably less morbid place. In Graveminder all the morbid bits happen on our side. You think that you're going to be (at least) a little frightened by all the dead folks, and you probably will be. But you will probably kind of want to give them a hug, too. They can't help it they're dead. Resist the urge, though. They bite.

6 of 6 toes!

And just because it's fun, here's a Corpse Bride video set to Kate Nash music. :)

Apocalypse Now

Okay, everyone stop what you're doing and go find a copy of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If the world is going to end this weekend, it will be fitting that this is the last book you'll ever read. If it doesn't end, you'll know why it doesn't. :P

I've read it twice, if you don't count the million times I've read the first chapter aloud with a terrible british accent to innocent passers by. I've sold at least ten copies in the past year, and loaned out my own copy twice. It's out now and I'm already thinking about who's next in line. Also, I have the audio book, which is quite good too. In short, there are not enough six toed cats in the world to rate this book's greatness in my eyes. Read it and we might get to have a chat about it next week. Then again, maybe not. :D

Playing Catch-Up

So I've read more than I've blogged lately, and I want to do a quick sum-up of what I've been reading.

I read River Marked by Patricia Briggs, and loved it as I have loved all of the Mercy Thompson books. I loved the foray into Mercy's Native American heritage and that she finally finds out more about her father. I was kind of hoping for more on Stefan, but at least he made a few appearances this go round. It leaves me hopeful that he might be back on board and ready for some vengeance in the next book.  All in all, 5 toes. Yes. I docked a whole toe for lack of Stefan the Scooby loving vampire. Come on. They can't all be sixes.

I've read Red Glove, which I blogged about. <3

Also, Defiance (Strange Angels) by Lili St. Crow was devoured. This has to be my favorite teen series. It is so deliciously enthralling. When I pick them up, I can't put them down again until the end. And this installment leaves you in very murky waters, wondering about the motives of a main character. I'm starving for more Strange Angels books. 5.5 toes.

And Abandon by Meg Cabot! (On shelves today!) I didn't really know what to expect from this book. I am a huge Meg Cabot fan, but I look to her for my funny fix. Since Abandon is a retelling of the myth of Persephone (You know, that chick that Hades kidnapped and took back to the underworld to be his bride? Only her mom towed her back out again and they made a deal where she'd spend half the year topside, and half the year down below, thus creating summer and winter?) I wasn't sure how funny the story would be. And really, it isn't funny at all. Not typical Meg Cabot stuff. But I loved it! I read straight through in one sitting. 5 toes.

My Easter read was Tangled Threads, the new Elemental Assassin book by Jennifer Estep. I'm loving the progression Gin Blanco is making from cold, hard assassin in the first book, to retired and world weary assassin, to retired assassin on the warpath for vengeance, into an almost superhero-esque figure fighting the evil crime queen of the fictional city of Ashland. I'm also loving that she's found a guy who gets who she is, and doesn't judge her for it. I'm kind of hoping Detective Donovan Caine will make a return cameo at some point so she can rub his nose in it. 6 toes!

 OH! I also read an ARC of her (Jennifer Estep's) new teen series Touch of Frost recently as well! Great stuff! Once again she's writing a supernatural series that is completely different from all the overdone vampire/were wolf mythology being churned out. This time it's a bunch of world myths thrown together in an elite private school. And there is a cute cameo from the Elemental Assassin series tossed in! 6 toes, more please!

Now I'm reading THIS:

So far, let me just say... squee!

Red Glove

I <3 Holly Black. Her new book, Red Glove returns readers to her Curse Workers world where transformation worker Cassel Sharp is struggling to find his place in the world now that he knows that he is a powerful worker. With his memories of the terrible things he's done gone, Cassel has to decide if he'll continue on the assassin's path his brothers set him on or let himself be recruited by a couple of ruthless feds intent on using his connections for their ends. None of this is made any easier by the presence of his childhood crush and the terrible guilt he feels at her having been cursed to love him. Can he resist the temptation to be with her until the curse wears off? Does he want to?

And all the time in the background, there is social and political unrest of a distopian nature threatening to change everything for this world where everyone wears gloves all the time to protect against unknown curse workers. There is a test that determines whether a person is a curse worker or not, and the government is proposing that the test be made mandatory for everyone. Cassel and his friends attend a protest where opposing placards read such phrases as "What do you have to hide?" and "Test everyone, Trust no one!" The tension feels very authentic and parallels civil rights protests of the past. One can even see similarities between the increasingly fear driven treatment of the curse workers and Nazi Germany's treatment of Jewish families. Pretty heady stuff to get teens thinking about the power of fear and ignorance in our own world.

That is Holly's gift, it seems. Writing fantastical works of fiction that feel real enough to live in. The emotions, visions and sensations she conjures up with her pen are nearly palpable in their authenticity. More please!

6 toes!

Love Virtually

Just read an ARC of Daniel Glattauer's Love Virtually, set to release (in the U.S.) in April. It seems that the book has been a big bestseller in Europe, and I can see why. Written in epistolary format (via letters, or in this case email. I think the most famous example of this style is Bram Stoker's Dracula.) Love Virtually is the story of a love affair between two people who've never met. An accidental, virtual meeting sparks a year long correspondance between a single man and a married woman. Through the whole book you are kept on pins and needles, wondering, will they ever meet? And if they meet, will the magic die??? 


I cannot possibly say more about the plot without destroying some part of its discovery for a potential reader. Just read it. It's engrossing, it's touching and it's refreshingly real in an age where The Shop Around the Corner -esque love affairs aren't entirely unheard of. Also, it's a quick read, and there is never a "slow" part where the author has to describe the color of someone's hair or the sound of a door creaking, or whatever. I love epistolary stories because they deliver a delicious lack details. You only know what the characters know. You have only what they tell each other and nothing more. It's all a big tease really. I love a good tease.

A bit of advice, though. If you are the type who reads the ending first....

1.) You will burn in literary hell for your sins. (Or at least you would if I were literary god.)
2.) Don't do it with this book!!!! You will ruin it! RUIN IT!!!!!
3.) I advise you to ask a reliably closed mouth acquaintance to tape the last few pages to the back cover of the book.

And fifteen minutes after I finished reading it, the heart palpitations were slowing and evening out to a normal, steady rhythm; and then I noticed the tiny print on the back of the ARC that promises a sequel in 2011. I thought it was over, but I will gladly take more. Please, don't tell me. I am sure that I could go searching and find out what happens in the next book. I think it's already been released in Europe. But I really don't want to know. I just want to see where it takes me. And that's kind of the whole point of this book.

6 (yes. SIX.) toes.

Pale Demon

I love Kim Harrison's gritty Hollows series. The series is about a witch named Rachel Morgan who left her job with supernatural law enforcement to work for herself. In this installment, together with her partners -- the living Vampire Ivy Tamwood and a Pixie named Jenks-- and long time rival Trent Kalamak, Rachel is hitting the road for the west coast. She has to reach San Francisco in time for a hearing with the council to clear her name (she's been shunned and accused of being a black witch), and also get Trent to Portland for a mysterious quest that he won't divulge.

Pale Demon has to be the best book in the series since Kist bit the dust. Rachel finds answers to some hard questions about herself, and about Trent. She can handle the truth, but what about the rest of the world?

5.5 toes

Weather Warden Books

Having just finished the Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine, let me just say.... Mother Earth... I promise I will recycle, I will never wear furs and my next car will be electric. Please don't kill us all.

I enjoyed the Weather Warden books, but I'm kind of glad that I'm finished with them. I get way too attached to characters. Attached to the point that I feel anxiety for their troubles. And Joanne Baldwin faces an over abundance of troubles of apocalyptic scale. Seriously. Apocalyptic. The only book in this series that did not have the characters scrambling to save mankind from extinction was the first, Ill Wind. And the shit hitting the fan was still pretty staggering. This series is like Buffy on crack. In kind of a good way. It's just that unlike Buffy who had a whole season to get her ducks in a row, Joanne's just got the space of a single novel, and she dies a lot more. Yes really. Girl could teach Buffy how to come back from the dead better next time. This all sounds kind of crazy, and it is. But I read it with a kind of frenzied glee.

I like that the author ties her magic system so intrinsically to the earth's energy and balance, and her version of the Djinn, sometimes bound to the Wardens in slavery, sometimes waring against them, or working with them. The lore is refreshingly different from most other fantasy series out there. Less than fighting against an evil mastermind, bent on senseless destruction, the Wardens and the Djinn are fighting for survival against the earth itself... And She is fighting for survival against us. It puts natural disasters in a whole new light.

Over all, I give this series 5 toes.

So Silver Bright

The cover reveal for So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev was today! I am in love with the cover art for this series. They are all exquisite, just like the books themselves. <3 I recommend them at work all the time.

The Theatre Illuminata books are nothing short of bewitching. The first book was hand selected for me by a friend at the book store. With the book in my hand, it was love at first sight. I took it home that day, and finished it that night. Or maybe the next morning. But the point is that I didn't stop until I reached the end, and then I wanted more. The plot is refreshingly original, and that's a feat considering it is largely cast with well known characters from a host of famous plays. Lisa Mantchev brings them to life and allows them to tell us who they really are backstage.

Bertie, the heroine, is what I like to call "the Anti-Bella." She is strong of character and not prone to whining. She dips her toes in romance but has the sense to hold onto her sense of self, and her dreams.

Brush of Darkness

Just read A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang. It's an very yummy read, full of sharp wit, hilarious, hot, and sometimes scary situations. A lot of imagination went into this book, which seems to be the start of a new urban fantasy series.

Abby Sinclair is the Touchstone (a sort of mortal assistant) of a very important faery named Moira. She's only had the gig for a short time when Moira takes off and weird things (even by Abby's standards, and she's got an enchanted iPod and a miniature unicorn romping about in her underwear drawer!) start happening. People are going missing, and a sexy incubus has asked Abby to help him get to the bottom of it. I don't want to include any spoilers, so I'll stop there, but wow. Just wow. There's a joyful, silly nimbus around the greater part of the plot that might drag some stories into the realm of the cartoon-esque. But the author has created a multi layered world with plenty of dark corners to balance Abby's enduring humor. I will definitely be watching for the next book by Allison Pang.

There's a day in the life of Phin (the mini unicorn who's actually not that into virgins after all) up here. It's a cute read. :) Check it out.
6 toes, IMO.

Upcoming Relelases

 Okay, here it is! The list of books that I cannot wait to read.... except that I have to, so I guess I'm going to. Listed in order by currently listed release dates.

            

                                    Darkest Mercy (a Wicked Lovely Novel) by Melissa Marr 

                                             February 22nd

Pale Demon (The Hollows Book 9) by Kim Harrison
Also on February 22nd.

 River Marked (A Mercy Thompson Novel) by Patricia                                                   

March 1st                                            Briggs

Red Glove (Curse Workers) by Holly Black
April 5th?
I have that date listed on the list I keep in my phone but there doesn't seem to be a date listed on Amazon currently. The cover pictured is the UK cover unfortunately. The US version is considerably less inspiring.

                   Defiance (Strange Angels) by Lili St. Crow

                   April 19th

        This is probably the sexiest teen series I've read.

     Quality prose, quality plot, strong characters. It's good. 

Abandon by Meg Cabot

April 26th

A retelling of the myth of Persephone.

I love Meg Cabot. Everything she writes is delicious.

                

The Hidden Goddess (Sequel to Native Star) 

by M. K. Hobson

Also April 26th.

Incredible Imagery in the Native Star has me eager to

pick up the next volume.

Dead Reckoning (A Sookie Stackhouse Novel) 

by Charlaine Harris

May 3rd

Who isn't waiting for more True Blood?

              Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin Book 4) 

              by Jennifer Estep

              May 26th

                                                   Book five due out in October 2011

(Here start the titles with no shiny new covers yet.)

Uncommon Criminals (A Heist Society Novel)

by Ally Carter

June 21st

Heist Society was crazy good. I highly recommend it. Oh, and there seems to be a movie in the works. Fingers crossed.

Kitty's Big Trouble (Kitty Norville, Book 9) by Carrie Vaughn

June 28th

Great werewolf series!

Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13) 

by Jim Butcher

July 26th (/cry)

The release date was pushed back on this one recently. It's killing me! :)

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

July 26th as well.

A new paranormal teen series that sounds kind of good.

Black Heart Loa by Adrian Phoenix
July 28th

Kitty's Greatest Hits by Carrie Vaughn

August 16th

This one is a hard cover and doesn't have a description, 

but I'm kind of thinking it might be an anthology of Kitty 

Norville short stories. Which would be rather cool. 

So Silver Bright (Theatre Illuminata, Book 3) by Lisa Mantchev

September 13th

A review on this series is well past due since it is THE VERY BEST THING I have read in years. I'm so in love with these books. Mantchev's prose is incredible and... well... like I said. Review on these soon. Book one is Eyes like Stars, and is now out in paperback. I can't recommend this one enough.

Also the cover art for them is amazing eye candy.

Edited To Add....


Aloha from Hell by Richard Kadrey  - October 18th
(Sandman Slim novel #3! I recommend this series at work all the time. If Harry Dresden and "The Bride" from Kill Bill had a love child who went to hell and then busted back out on a quest for bloody vengeance.... that love child would be Sandman Slim. Which is to say, too damned sexy for words.)


                                          Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
                                                       October 25th
                            Third Installment of the Hush, Hush books
                            Yum. :) 

This concludes my list of anticipated release dates. For now. :) 

Kick Ass Urban Fantasy Chicks

Urban Fantasy is my favorite genre at the moment. I can't get enough of it. I'm going to post a list soon of all the different novel series I currently follow, but suffice it to say that there is quite the handful. But I have found myself in a stagnant waiting period since October. I'm waiting until at least March for most release dates on my list at the moment. I was going a little stir crazy. So I picked up two new series over the last ... week and a half? And devoured them. It could be that I was a brain starved book zombie, but I rather think that the two authors I picked up were just kind of genuinely awesome.

First I picked up Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin books, beginning with Spider's Bite. The darker tone reminds me a little of Kim Harrison's Hollow's series, if you are familiar with her books. (If not, you should be. It's on my list of muchness.) What caught me about these books was that they were supernatural themed books that weren't steeped in vampires. There are vampires present in the universe the books are set in, but they are minor characters at best. Instead, Elementals, workers of elemental magic, are the top of the food chain. Also, the author includes giants and dwarves in her world without taking the urban out of urban fantasy and dragging the book into LOTR territory. Not that I don't like LOTR. It's classic, it's cannon, yadda yadda. This is just refreshing. I also like that while the main character is an elemental, she largely relies on her own physical strength and skill instead of throwing lightning bolts from her fingertips at every turn. Over all I give the whole series a rating of 5.5 toes.







And when that was done, it was like someone gave me one freaking M&M and I had to run out to the store and buy a whole bag to satisfy the resulting craving. That bag of M&Ms was Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series. Jane is my new girl crush. She's pretty much kick ass. She rides a motorcycle and carries a shotgun. Her business card reads "Have stakes, will travel." The first three books (fourth does not yet have release date.) are set in New Orleans. Also 5.5 toes.

Personal Demons - or How I'm always for the bad boy.

                                         But seriously?
                                        Look at this brooding hottie on the cover?
                                        Boy with wings doesn't stand a chance.
                                        Okay, maybe a bit of a chance.

     Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers is a yummy, delirious little roller coaster of hormonal wrath. I loved it. I picked it up feeling somewhat dubious, but I was hooked on page one. Good call starting off with Demon boy narrating. :) I'm a sucker. What can I say? There's lots of kissing, even more boys, some jealousy, a little sacrilege...  just a hint to spice things up. :)


Incidentally I am implementing a new rating system. 6 toes. My cat has six toes on each paw so.... Personal demons gets 4.5 toes.

All Just Glass

    Finished All Just Glass last night... er... this morning. I really enjoyed it. Amelia Atwater-Rhodes writes the kind of headstrong female characters with fighting spirit that I always wanted to be growing up. When I  put on plays with my sister and friends, I was never Wendy, always Peter Pan. Who wants to sit around playing mommy? I wanted to fight with pirates. And most of AHAR's heroines seem to be of a similar mind.
    That this book was a sequel, published about ten year after the first book, gave All Just Glass some big shoes to fill. There were a lot of questions left unanswered at the end of Shattered Mirror that fans were more than a little eager to find answers to. No one wanting to know how Adia Vida would handle her little sister's demise and rebirth will be denied resolution. In fact, Sarah's whole family turns out to show us all their true colors. Can they kill the monster that wears Sarah's skin? Or might they believe that vampire or not, Sarah Vida will die to protect the people she loves? Sarah isn't left without a myriad of questions to answer, herself. Can she let herself continue on, surviving on the blood of humans when she's spent her entire life protecting them? Can she hold onto the strict vampire hunter control that has been instilled in her since early childhood and turn it to her advantage now, making it possible to feed without killing? And when it finally comes down to a fight, whose side will she stand on? The family that raised her? Or the new family that she has inadvertently made with the Ravena brothers who turned her to save her life?
     I won't give any spoilers away, but rest assured that all the answers are there. I kind of felt like the ending was a little too neat. It almost seems to fold itself up like a shirt and tuck itself away in a drawer. But then I have grown accustomed to the author leaving rather open endings to most of her novels. I think that is an outcome I prefer, though I understand many readers do not share my predilection for being left with a multitude of possibilities. Mostly, I think, people like to know exactly what happens next. But remember that it is exactly that desire for precise answers that leads to Eliza Dolittle married to Freddie and running a flower shop. If part of you wants her to stay with Professor Higgins, don't hound the author for a happy ending. I for one, almost hope that she doesn't continue this story line for the simple reason that... and don't scream at me for confessing it, but.... I kind of wish a little romance would blossom between Sarah and Nikolas instead of with the more sensitive Kristopher. Yeah he kills people, and yeah that's bound to be an issue for Sarah. But who can resist a bad boy? Not I. Of course, I don't think Nikolas is even capable of taking something he sees as belonging to his brother so it will probably never happen.

    AJG is told from a shifting, limited third person narrative that focuses on several individuals throughout the book. I liked getting inside so many different heads and the way it allows you to catch just enough of each character's truth to keep you wondering who was betraying whom until the very end. Another thing I enjoy about the author's writing style is that, while most of her Den of Shadows novels stand on their own, there are cameo appearances by characters from other books that happen so naturally that they don't even feel like cameos at all. She has this great cast of characters that interact together within their community, set apart from unsuspecting human eyes. And because each story is told from a different perspective, you see each character in many different shades of light. You get to know the many different facets that make them all the more real.
    If you've never read any of Atwater-Rhodes' work, I highly recommend the new omnibus edition Den of Shadows Quartet which includes her first four books. Shattered Mirror is there, along with my personal favorite, Demon in My View. After reading AJG I am tempted to break out my own much read copies of her earlier work. These were some of my very favorite books in high school, and I truly enjoyed slipping back into Nyeusigrube.

A Sucker For Packaging

     Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has been one of my favorite authors for a long time. She had a very mature writing voice at a young age, which I admire. Her new book, All Just Glass, due out on Tuesday, really isn't all that new. She's had it in the work for ages. The book that precedes AJG (Shattered Mirror) came out... ten years ago? Something like that. So many of her fans have been waiting on this one for a while. I can't wait to get ahold of it next week.

I have to say, though, that I'm less than thrilled with the cover art. It's not nearly as nice as some of the previous covers have been. I particularly like the old cover for In the Forests of the Night, and also Wyvernhail.