When I perused the reviews for this story, I almost didn’t get it. Too much sex for a YA the negative review cried. Aw crap, I thought. I hate boinking books, which is one reason why I like YA–much less boinking, and it’s mostly off screen.

But it was only $0.99, so I decided it couldn’t hurt to try.

Let’s clarify the boinking–the main character does not boink–she doesn’t even get kissed–but she is at a private school where other students are doing what 17 and 18 year old kids do. That does not make a boinking book. It’s an acknowledgement that lots of teens are sexually active, whether adults want to acknowledge it or not. But Gwen herself is not, and I think that’s an important distinction the negative reviewer failed to make. After all, any YA book full of kids who are NOT drinking and NOT being sexually active isn’t reality based in our current reality.

So yes, there is an acknowledgement of sex, but that’s all over TV, movies, and everything else. But this is NOT a boinking book.

Thank goodness.

Gwen Frost is a student at Mythos Academy. She was sent there after her mother was killed by a drunk driver, to learn more about her Gypsy gift and the magical heritage of not just herself but of others in the world–Amazons, Valkyries, Spartans–all these exist and a trained to fight Chaos.

I thought the world building here was especially good–because Gwen knows little other than how her gift works, we learn along with her.

Gwen is a typical teen, except for the fact she’s struggling with grief following the death of her mother. The school to which she is sent is NOT full of typical teens, but instead full of very rich, very spoiled, kids with supernatural powers who have grown up knowing they are destined to battle chaos and evil.

The secondary characters are also good–the boy Gwen has a crush on, and the girl who eventually becomes Gwen’s friend are interesting in and of themselves, and were enjoyable to spend time with.

And of course there was the story itself–I like the idea that there are people descended from myth still inhabiting the world, still fighting evil.

Read the short story first, and if you enjoy it, then I believe you’ll enjoy Touch of Frost.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Kensington Books

Gwen Frost has a Gypsy gift–when she touches things she learns about the people who held those items. In addition to that skill, she has a good dose of curiosity, that eventually shows her things she never wanted to learn.

This is a short story, and an introduction to Touch of Frost, the first book in the Mythos Academy series.

If you like YA, this is a good story to check out, to tell you if you’ll like the series. It’s self-contained, which is always good in a short story, but it did lead me to immediately start the first book. Just one more reason to love eBooks.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Kensington Books

This is the third book in The Legend of Eli Monpress.

The third book is much less about Eli, which is too bad, because Eli was the character I most liked. Instead, we see that those who are supposed to be watching over the world aren’t doing their job particularly well.

We also see Nico’s continued battle with her demonseed. And Miranda obsessively continues her quest to capture Eli, to the exclusion of almost everything else.

As much as I enjoyed the first book, at the end of the third I’m kinda… meh about the series. I enjoyed reading about Eli’s capers, and I liked the other characters, but this book was primarily focused on the demon and the politics of the Spirit Court and so on and so forth, and that just… wasn’t what I want to read.

There are other books in this series apparently, and the story didn’t end particularly cleanly, but I think I’ll leave it here.
Rating: 6/10

Published by Orbit (The Legend of Eli Monpress contains three books, starting with The Spirit Thief.)

This is the second book in The Legend of Eli Monpress.

Following the events of the last book: Nico needs a new coat, which sends Joseph, Nico, and Eli to the one man who could make another garment for her. Miranda returns home only to be put on trial for her actions. The Duke of Gaol (and the ally of the man behind Miranda’s trial) has built an “impenetrable citadel” to draw in and attempt to capture Eli.

We meet several new characters, including some of Eli’s allies, and catch glimpses of Eli’s past.

It has a cliffhanger-ish ending, however, since I have all three books in a single series, it didn’t bother me in the slightest.

It continues to be a fun series.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Orbit (The Legend of Eli Monpress contains three books, starting with The Spirit Thief.)

Although Eugenides makes many appearances in this story, it is about Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis.

Sophos had disappeared, and this story is told, in large part, as his retelling of what happened to him.

As with every other book in this series so far, and as with every other book I’ve read by Megan Whalen Turner, the story is excellent. The characters are excellent. There are no punches pulled, despite the fact this is a young adult book, and the tale is complex enough to satisfy any adult.

If you have not read this series, you really need to do so. Go pick up The Thief. I promise. You’ll thank me.
Rating: 9/10

Published by Greenwillow Books

I should have loved this–I love folklore and so was familiar with Koschei the Deathless, and was eager to read a tale staring him. And the hero of the story is the young Marya Morevna who has seen birds turn into her sister’s husbands, and so expects magical adventures to happen to her.

But… I made it more than halfway through before I gave up and skipped to the end.

It’s not that there weren’t things to like.

Zemlehyed looked more or less like what you would get if a particularly stunted and ugly oak tree had fallen passionately in love with a boulder and produced, at great cost to both, a single child.

What’s not to like there?

But the story was set in Stalinist Russia, and the fairy creatures have taken communism to heart just as the populace has. And as much as Koschei and Marya love each other, only bad things happen.

And I just didn’t want to read about bad things.

Published by Tor

This was a fun, straight-up fantasy romp, something I haven’t read in awhile, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Eli Monpress is a thief. As far as he’s concerned, he’s the best thief in the world, and his goal is for the bounty for his head to reach one million gold pieces.

In his journeys, Eli has two companions, Nico, a young waif who wears a strange and large coat, and Josef the swordsman. Josef’s goal is to become the best swordsman in the world, so hanging around with Eli seems a good way to achieve that goal.

We also meet Miranda and her companion Gar. Miranda is a member of the Spirit Court, and her job is to make sure those who can speak to spirits are not abusing their powers.

If you enjoy stories about rogues, then you’ll enjoy spending time with Eli Monpress.
Rating: 7/10

Published by Orbit (The Legend of Eli Monpress contains three books, starting with The Spirit Thief.

Mallow is content to live with her cast iron ducks doing the occasional magic for those in need, but mostly she prefers to be left alone.

But then the King of Fairy calls a for a Foul in the capital of Pandemonium and requires are Fair Folks to attend, so off she goes, hoping perhaps to learn some Wet Magic while she’s there.

I’ve had The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making on my wishlist for awhile now, so I thought this short story would be a nice introduction to Catherynne M. Valente’s money. It was, and it’s time for me to read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Tor

I believe I’ve made my love of Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros series well known. I love the relationship between Niko and Cal, and how Niko keeps Cal human, despite everything. And how Cal remains human, because of Niko.

Cal has changed a lot over the course of the series. He’s overcome the Alphie, yet remains a monster in the eyes of most, and once again, that reputation comes back to cause trouble.

I’m conflicted about this book. I still love Cal and Niko, but I’m not certain I like where the story is going. In retrospect, I can see the setup for part of this story several books back, but I am having trouble setting aside some of my disbelief.

I’m also unsure about different reactions of several of the characters–I’m not sure I saw the logic in why they behaved the way they did. I’ll have to think about that for a little while.

The other thing I realized while considering this book, is that I don’t see how this series can go on indefinitely. Cal cannot exist without Niko. But unlike Cal, Niko won’t be long lived.

So, I’ll read the next book–won’t be able to help myself–but I’m nervous as to where the story is going.
Rating: 7/10

Published by ROC

Kylie is having what is justifiably the worst day ever.

On top of losing her favorite grandmother and her boyfriend breaking up with her, she comes home from school to discover that her parents are getting divorced. In fact, her father is throwing clothes in a suitcase and storming out.

Plus, her night terrors have returned.

In an effort to take a break from all the crap in her life, Kylie goes to a party. Unfortunately, it ends up being the wrong party, and now she’s being shipped off to a camp for troubled youth.

Could things get any worse?

Yup. The camp is for supernatural youth. As far as Kylie is concerned, she doesn’t have any special powers, but the counselors are convinced she does, and they’re the cause of her night terrors.

One of the things I particularly liked was that there were no easy answers for Kylie, and as hard as it is for a child to be caught in the middle of their parent’s divorce, Kylie learns there is no one bad guy when a marriage falls apart.

Very enjoyable. Even if everything wasn’t completely resolved, it was a solid ending that left you wanting to know more rather than wondering what the heck is going on.
Rating: 7/10

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin

Free story that’s an intro to the Shadow Falls series.

It obviously worked, since I then got the first book, Born at Midnight.

Della Tsang doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she has to wonder, when one night she sees her dead cousin.

This story is a very good introduction to her world, and the background on Della was nice when I read Turned and Midnight.
Rating: 7/10

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin

I liked this right up until I realized it was book one in what will become an ongoing series.

I love that the story is based upon found pictures–and that we get to see the pictures.

I just hate getting involved in ongoing series when there is little resolution at the end of a book.

Published by Quirk Books

Atticus O’ Sullivan is a druid who has lived for more than two thousand years. He’s spent the last several in Arizona, hiding from the god of love, who wants his sword back.

Adding to his problems, his ally of sorts is the Morrigan, who warns him that his enemy is closing in, but won’t directly involve herself in helping Atticus.

Of course, Atticus does have a few allies–his lawyers are a vampire and a werewolf, and his best friend is an Irish wolfhound. Plus, he looks like he’s 20 years old, which doesn’t hurt him any either.

This was a fun romp. It is a boinking book, but it’s not ALL about the boinking. Atticus has huge powers, but he’s not invincible, and he has to survive in the modern world. It was interesting, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
Rating: 7/10

Satira is the daughter of a whore, who has spent the last several years working for Nathaniel. Like her mentor, Satira is mechanically gifted, but unlike her mentor, because she’s a woman she is forbidden to officially study and join the guild.

Wilder is a bloodhound. Bloodhounds are men who have been changed by the government to help control vampires.

Nathaniel has been kidnapped by vampires, and now Wilder and Satira have to go into the lands controlled by the vamps to get him back. The only problem is that the New Moon will soon be upon them, and Wilder will have to deal with his curse.

This is a steampunk adventure, and I like Satira, and I liked the world building, but good grief was there a lot of boinking. I think a full third of the novella was sexual escapades, which just isn’t my thing.

So as much as I liked the characters and world building and story, I’ll probably skip any new books, because that’s a LOT of boinking.

Published by Samhain Publishing (and if I’d seen that, I probably wouldn’t have bought this book, because they publish primarily erotica, which isn’t what I’m looking for.)

This is a novella set in the same world as Steam & Sorcery, with the characters from that story making an eventual appearance in this one.

Amy Deland is a photographer, who is haunted by marks appearing in a handful of her pictures that seem to presage the death of the person she photographed.

Kendall Lake is a member o the Order of the Round Table, a group dedicated (since the days of King Arthur) to protecting the public from malevolent supernatural creatures.

As with the first novella, I liked the mystery and the steampunk, and could have done without all the boinking (or near boinking as the case may be). The world building is very good, and I hope she keeps writing stories in this world, even if the boinking bits are not to my taste.

Published by Carina Press

This is the first of a spate of short stories I read.

Because I like short stories.

Zal is a century dreamer–she dreams far into the future, a skill that is quite rare, and one to which she is adjusting, as it only recently came upon her.

Her beloved uncle flower has been away at war for a third of her life, but now he is returning home, and she cannot wait for him to see how much she’s grown in the intervening years. The letters–censored as they were–were not enough to truly tell her what life was like.

It took awhile for me to figure out what was going on, which made me slow to get into the story, but I quite enjoyed it once I started to understand the world in which Zal lived.

This is a short story, and just a slice of Zal’s life.

Published by Tor

This is a short story set in Dragaera. It features both Daymar and the Dzur Zungaron/Telnan.

It’s only a dollar! If you’ve read Steven Brust, you know you want it!

Published by Tor

Wow. I totally wasn’t expecting THAT.

This is the last book in the series.

I also had problems with the book, few of which had to do with the actual ending of the series.

Although I gobbled down earlier books in the series, I had a hard time getting into this one–the story felt like it was meandering, and didn’t seem to have the pieces that I enjoyed so much in the earlier books.

In a way, it felt like he had a LOT of things he needed to work in, but wasn’t ever quite sure about the best way to do so. The addition of his family members felt almost arbitrary–I didn’t remember anything about them from earlier books, but suddenly they’re all here and I wasn’t even sure why until the story reached the point they were needed.

I also felt as if several of the important characters received short shrift–especially Leo’s family.

I do like that he had the balls to actually conclusively end the series, but, I can’t say I was satisfied with this final book.
Rating: 6/10

Published by Ace

Jack is in fifth grade and can see ghosts.

Unfortunately for him, when his fifth-grade teacher dies, he discovers that ghosts can also see him, and attach themselves to him.

I love Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s writing and stories.

I love even better that eBooks can make these stories available without having to stumble upon an anthology that may or may not contain a story by authors I love. I can’t say that Amazon has made is easy for me to find these stories, but the store is getting better, and the fact that they’re available at all is pretty wonderful as far as I’m concerned.

This is a stand alone story (as many of her stories are) so if you were looking for an introduction to her style, you could certainly do so here.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Tor

Things are going well for Mercy–except for the fact that her mother is driving her absolutely crazy with details for her upcoming wedding, which drives Mercy to beg Adam to elope, before things get even more out of hand. But can the Alpha of the Columbia River basin really get away with eloping?

OK, yeah, so there’s all this wedding/marriage stuff, but what is really fabulous about this book is the finally Mercy gets to learn something about her past. She discovers she isn’t the only walker around (and even that those she meets disdain the term skinwalker, as a different type of creature all together).

I love that we’re finally delving into the Native American mythos, and that (to me at least), it felt like she got it right. I really enjoyed the look at how Mercy became what and who she was.

I also have to admit that I appreciate her complicated relationship with her mother.

If you have not read the Mercy series, you should be able to read this book without much difficulty, but it will be much more rewarding to start at the first book and move your way forward to here.

Regarding the cover: I don’t dislike the covers in this series–in fact, I tend to like that they mostly seem to get Mercy right, unfortunately, I can’t stand the outfit she’s wearing and after the cover of Faith Hunter‘s Raven Cursed, this just falls way short. Mind you, it’s still better than lots of other stuff out there, but this is not portraying Mercy as a strong independent woman. So: please try harder Ace.
Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Ace

Jane Yellowrock is back in Asheville, NC, providing security for a vampire meeting. Lincoln Shaddock wants to lead his own clan, and has petitioned Leo Pellisser for that right. Shaddock’s ability to shorten the time of devoveo has made him a power, and so Lincoln must decide if he deserves to be Master of his own City.

Meanwhile, Jane is hoping to spend some time with Molly and her family, and hopes to help Rick resolve his inability to shift after being infected by the African Leopard. On top of all that, someone is trying to disrupt the conference, and there are deaths in the area that are being attributed the the vampires.

That’s a whole lot of Jane to deal with, and it only gets worse, the more she discovers.

I really like Jane. But I do have to wonder how much longer she’s going to be able to keep her secrets.

Also–the covers for this series are fabulous. That looks exactly the way Jane is portrayed in the story, and huzzah for her actually looking Native American.
Rating: 8/10

Published by ROC

These are (as the title suggests) four stories in Jane Yellowrock’s world.Three of the four stories feature Jane–the is Rick’s story of how he got his tats and came to work for the vampires.

The first story, “The Early Years” is very brief, just a peek at Jane leaving the orphanage where she was raised to set out on her own, and her (one presumes) discovery of Beast. It’s almost little more than a background sketch.

“Cat Tails” is the Rick story, and is moderately disturbing, mostly because the only character we know survives is Rick.

I very much liked the story “Kits” which tells how Jane and Molly became friends.

The finally story, “Blood, Fangs, and Going Furry,” takes place immediately after the events in Mercy Blade, as Rick has to deal with his infection by the weres.

All in all a nice collection. The first three stories could be read by anyone interested in dipping a toe into the Jane Yellowrock stories, but if you haven’t read the series, I’d recommend skipping the fourth story until you get caught up.
Rating: 8/10

Published by New American Library

This is a novella set in the same world as her Jane True series, but with a different group of characters, and set in Illinois.

Capitola, Moo, and Shar are the halfling detectives. Normally, they only take supernatural cases, but when Capitola’s father shows up at their office with a priest and missing Catholic school girls, they can’t say no, so in shorter order they’re embedded undercover at the school.

One of the things I really really liked was that Cappie and Moo did not go undercover as high school girls. Only Shar, the halfling succubus was pretending to be a teenager, and that’s not an unreasonable stretch (Must be young and desirable to survive. I’d say pretending to be a teenager was par for the course, there.) And the positions that Moo and Cappie took were logical and reasonable and pretty good ideas, actually.

Like the Jane True series, there is boinking and nudity and stuff like that. Which is not my thing, but I do like her world building, and I very much liked the three characters in this story.

The only negatives were that I found some of the parts of the story towards the end a little confusing, specifically the parts relating to world/character building/traits and why certain details were missed earlier.

Not bad for three bucks, and I wouldn’t mind other stories with these characters.
Rating: 7/10

I don’t know what it is, but sometimes, I think when my OCD is acting up, I have a hard time reading new books, instead going back to old favorites.

I think part of it may be a fear that I won’t be able to put a new book down, which would lead to short sleep, which would exacerbate my OCD…

Yeah. Something like that.

This was a reread of Thud, another Discworld novel about the Night Watch (or really, in this case, at this point it’s just The Watch).

Commander Vimes has his hands full, what with Vetinari ordering a vampire onto the watch, fighting breaking out all over town on the anniversary of Koom Valley, and the most important ritual–reading “Where’s My Cow” every night to young Sam, at six o’clock sharp.

Vetinari waved a languid hand. ‘But full cards congesting the street, Vimes, is a sign of progress.’ he declared.

‘Only in the figurative sense, sir,’ said Vimes.

‘All right,’ said Vimes, in the ringing vacuum. ‘Who’s going to be the first to tell me a huge whopper? Corporal Nobbs?”

‘Didn’t know what’d hit ‘em, eh?’ said Vimes.

Detrius looked mildly offended at this. ‘Oh no, sir,’ he said, ‘I made sure they knew I hit ‘em.’

Of course, I’d forgotten about all the bits in Koom Valley somehow. It’s odd, how I always forget what a tremendous commentary on the world these books are, until I’m reading those bits again.
Rating:8/10

I’ve got one book left and then I’m all caught up on the Cal Leandros series.

In a way, that’s a good thing, because I have a huge to-read pile. But mostly it’s sad, because I love spending time in this world. As I reread these books, I keep coming upon passage after passage that had stuck out in my memory, that made me laugh, or made me love the characters even more.

Again, another bit about the relationship between Niko and Cal:

“He is a monster,” she said sharply to Niko, “this thing you call a brother, but perhaps you are worse. You are his keeper. We keep our monster under lock and key and you let yours run free, free to kill and destroy as he sees fit. Everything he does, the responsibility is shared equally with you.”

“Of everything he does, I”m proud to claim half.” Niko rose to his feet.

Of course, just because Niko refuses to let anyone else insult Cal, that doesn’t stop him for giving Cal precisely what he deserves.

…I’m heaped with good karma for putting up with your incessant bitching and moaning. If you didn’t sleep, I wouldn’t escape it at all.” He placed his own bags beside mine and paid the cab driver. “Forget the usual hundreds of reincarnated lives one usually must pass through. It’s a wonder I didn’t become enlightened and reach nirvana before you hit puberty for my righteousness in the face of incomprehensible suffering.”

And of course, there’s Salome, Goodfellow’s mummy cat.

I went to the passenger side and was greeted by fangs shown in a cheerful greeting, jack-o-lantern eyes, and a ruby collar with a gold ID tag around a hairless neck. I opened the door and Salome, who was sitting upright, reagal, and ready for her ride, didn’t move. I opened my jacket and showed her my gun. She opened her mouth and I watched her already-visible fangs slide farther out of her gray gums and double in size. I closed my jacket and got in the backseat with Robin.

A hairless paw, with perfectly normal-looking claws that obviously weren’t, came through the bars, followed by a dry-as-dust mrrrp. “There, there. Who’s a good kitty?” I said, taking a step back. I didn’t pull a gun, though. I thought that gave me balls of steel. In Salome’s eyes, steel would just make them easier to roll across the condo floor.

“Calm down,” Robin said dismissively. “She doesn’t kill humans.”

“How do you know for sure?” Niko asked pointedly.

“Because I spray her with a water bottle if she does. Very effective.”

Yeah, I adore this series.

And again, kudos to whoever does the artwork for ROC. The cover once again nails the book precisely, without actually giving anything away. I love these covers.
Rating: 9/10

Published by ROC

Yeah, still can’t stop reading the Cal Leandros books. Deathwish is the fourth book, and even better than the previous three. Which are damned good.

Unlike the previous stories, in Deathwish, each chapter alternates between Cal and Niko’s point of view. In this I like not only the perspective of Cal from the outside, but of Niko’s thoughts both of himself and Cal (and Cal’s hero worship of him). It’s actually kind of nice, because not only do we Niko’s view of himself (which helps to offset SOME of Cal’s hero worship) we also see why Niko loves Cal so much.

And, as always, fabulous dialog and writing.

Here are some of Niko’s thoughts:

I kepy my eyes on my book as I tossed the dagger up into the air yet again and caught it blind. One: because it was good practice. You always know where your weapon is, whether you can see it or not. Always. Second: It annoyed Cal, as he couldn’t do it.

If I was a cold ideal, with every bit of compromise stripped away, then that was survival. If I were an abstract, that’s how it had to be. Never mind the things it made me wonder. As in, had Sophia won? As in, Outside honor, did I truly exist at all?

Then Cal punched me in the nose and, as a starburst of pain flared behind my eyes and I tasted blood, I decided that I did.

I think Niko’s memory of events in the first book once again goes to the heart of the relationship between the two.

There were no words.

I, who had read so many of them in my life, had no words for it. The blade slipping through the resistance of his flesh. The blood. On me, Cal’s blood, warm and flowing. Dripping from my hands to the floor. Red with a quick patter like rain. Images and sensations; I had those. So many. But no words. Words were defining, capturing. I didn’t want that moment defined. I only wanted it gone. Over a year later and I still just wanted it gone.

And of course, there is always Cal.

I ran a hand over the steering wheel, sighed, and got out of the car. Maybe a motorcycle. The great monster fighter cruising around on his hog… that wasn’t a cliche, no. Fine. I’d be a monster fighter who rose the bus. It didn’t get any more bad-ass than that.

Eyes still shut, Cal held up his forefinger and thumb as if his hand were a gun and pointed it at Robin, his aim unerring right between the eyes. “I’m a cranky asshole with a gun and superpowers, remember?”

I got up to check out the bathroom… “Shit!” I called out. Is there such a thing as a giant supernatural cockroach straight from the depths of hell?”

“No. Be a man and deal with it.”

I could’ve shot it. It was that big. I kicked it in the toilet and flushed. Three times. Then I returned to Cat Urine Central. “Okay. The world is safe for pissing again. Enjoy.”

Every book I read, I love this series more, and I’m having a hard time not grabbing the next book in the series as soon as a finish one. Mostly because there aren’t that many books in the series, and gobbling them down will make it go all the faster.
Rating: 9/10

Published by ROC

I have a huge To Be Read pile, yet I can’t stop rereading this series.

This book starts off with Cal and Niko working on a kidnapping case. Cal–who is still pretty high strung (justifiably)–hates kidnapping cases, so there probably isn’t much chance things are going to go well.

So of course they don’t go well.

And before they’ve even recovered from that, they have a new case–a break in at the museum, with only a single, strange item missing.

One of the things we get in this story is the tiniest sliver of Robin’s history. It’s quite interesting to see the events that may well have kept Robin from turning out like Hob (see Moonshine)

But, as always, the writing and dialog are my favorite parts.

“And once again, the folklore monkeys got it wrong. Caps stained with blood.” Robin gave a foamy snort into his drink. “Yes, how frightening. A capering evil wearing a hat. Maybe he wears suspenders and short pants as well. Will the terror never end?”

Robin clarifies this lack of capering and short pants. And it is perry gruesome.

…I stopped counting. When it came to mathematics, there were three numerical concepts I was intersted in: barely worth the time, doable, and strategic fucking retreat. I didn’t need a calculator to know we were looking at the later.

That’s Cal and his mathematics of survival.

“What now boss?” I said with a groan. “I haven’t impaled a customer in days.”

“No,” he agreed with a bunched jaw. “You did, however, serve a vodyanoi a margarita on ice.”

“So?” I shrugged, not seeing the problem.

“With salt,” he added.

“And?” I twirled my fingers in an impatient come-on-already gesture.

“And half his face melted onto the bar.” He bent slightly and put his head even with mine. “Salt tends to do that to them.”

Once again, she’s worked in other creatures from folklore, making them both more horrible but yet more realistic than what you find in folklore.

The only bad note about this story is that it ends on a cliffhanger of sorts–with something bad appearing on the very last paragraph. I hate endings like that, and would have been perfectly content to leave the story the way it was before that last paragraph. Luckily, this is the only book (so far) in which she has done that.

Thank goodness.
Rating: 8/10

Published by ROC

Yup. Another re-read.

I’ve been out of sorts, so a re-read of a favorite series is always good for helping my mood–or at least drawing me out of myself to forget about what’s bothering me.

This is the second Cal Leandros book, and it’s even better than the first.

Niko and Cal are in business now–Promise has gone in with them to start their own company. Unfortunately for Cal and Niko, that work consists mostly of killing monsters who have gotten out of line. They’re quite good at it, but you can’t say it’s pleasant work.

As with all the books in this series, the heart of the story is Cal and Niko and what they will do for each other.

I started into the depths of the carnical, not bothering to check to see if he was following. He was. It wasn’t something I had to see or hear to know. Niko watched my back. Always. The mountains would fall and the oceans dry to dust before that ever changed.

But now, for the first time in their lives they have friends–people who are willing to look out for them. It’s a strange place for Cal to be in.

But of course what makes me love these books so much is the dialog.

“How do you know that Goodfellow even plays poker?”

I commented in disbelief, “You’re shitting me, right?”

“In retrospect, not the most astute question, I admit,” Niko sighed.

Holding out my arm, I said formally, “Is milady ready?”

Amused, Promise tucked a hand into the crook of my elbow. “How gallant you are, sir.”

“When you’re dressed like you charge five dollars an hour, you have to be,” Robin observed caustically.

“You don’t actually believe in gypsy curses, do you?” I asked with a faint overlay of scorn.

Green eyes narrowed on me with impatience. “Of course not. I, an immortal creature, am only standing here with a vampire, a half Auphie, and a walking talking wolf. Why would I possible believe in something as ludicrous as a Gypsy curse?” He rubbed the heel of both hands over tired eyes and went on to snap, “And then there’s that entire year I spent impotent thanks to one.”

Oh how I love this series.

One last note. This series has perfect covers. Not only do they portray Cal and Niko accurately, they also catch the essence of the books. Fantastic.
Rating: 9/10

I actually finished this a couple weeks ago, but somehow forgot to write about it.

For Christmas, the husband and wife team of Ilona Andrews made a novella, Magic Gifts, available for download from the website for a limited time. I of course downloaded it and once I figured out how to move it to my Kindle, read it.

Magic Gifts is a Kate Daniels novella. Kate and Andrea are still trying to get their business, “Cutting Edge Investigations”, off the ground. Unfortunately for them, they are only getting the cases that no one else wants.

After a particularly rough (and disgusting) day, Curran offers to take Kate out to dinner. Unfortunately, things never go as planned.

Adding to Kate’s problems, Jim is hounding her about dealing with the Mercenary Guild. (Kate’s aunt killed the head of the guild, and they’ve lacked a leader ever since.)

This is quite a long story, for a free novella. Some residual issues (ie the Mercenary Guild) are tied up and we meet some new creatures inhabiting the areal. The only thing that was not resolved was Andrea’s problems. However, she had those issues coming into the story, so their lack of resolution wasn’t an issue for me.

The story is no longer available for free download, but I’m sure that at some point in the future it will be available for purchase.
Rating: 8/10

This is a reread, because I was talking about it to someone else, and I just couldn’t resist going back to the start of this series.

There are so many things I love about this book, and this series. First and foremost, is the relationship between Cal and Niko.

“You should try literature that contains words of more than two syllables, little brother. You might just learn something.”

“‘Voluptuous’ has more than two syllables.” Turning the book right side up, I scanned the page. “So does ‘nymphomaniac,’” I added.

But the heart of it is in this passage:

“Niko!” I tossed the blade up with the unshakable faith that he would catch it. Absolute, utter faith, but that didn’t keep me from saying a silent prayer.

I’ve said it before–this series is at it’s heart a love story. The love of two brothers who, as Cal says above, have absolute, utter faith in each other.

And of course, there’s Cal and his attitude.

The relationship between my brain and my mouth tended to be casual at best.

Yeah. Been there.

I wheedled like a whiny twelve-year-old, as opposed to the whiny adult that I was.

Cal is all attitude, but with very good reason. But no matter that he is genetically half-monster, Niko keeps him human. Like I said, the love Niko and Cal have for each other–even when they’re sniping and grumbling and fighting–it gives each the ability to do things that are nearly impossible.

And now I have to attempt to read some of the other books I have, before I binge on the rest of this series. We’ll see how well I manage with that.
Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Roc