One Grave at a Time (2011) Jeaniene Frost Here’s what I don’t get. That horrific cover? Same author. Same publisher, but the covers for this series are pretty damned awesome. And this doesn’t even merit something Jim Hines could mock for unrealistic/uncomfortable body poses! Plus, it’s a great book! I love how there’s still story […]

Hellboy Vol 12: The Storm and the Fury (2012) Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo Oh. Wow. I wasn’t expecting that at all. The Hellboy series has typically alternated volumes of short stories with volumes of the ongoing series. I generally tend to prefer the short story collections, but have read the ongoing stories with interest. Well, […]

Ember A prequel to Firelight (2012) Kristen Callihan This is the prequel to Firelight, and for 99 cents I figured it would be worth checking out. It was an interesting short story, but really not much of a stand its your own story. It also contains a preview of Firelight, which I also read, and […]

Eternal Kiss of Darkness (2010) Jeaniene Frost I really liked this book. However. HOLY TOMATOES! THAT IS A HORRIBLE COVER! Seriously, her Cat and Bones series has decent covers–good covers even. But this? This makes me want to cringe. Perhaps even rip the cover off and burn it so I don’t ever have to see […]

Anna Dressed in Blood (2011) Kendare Blake Cas has inherited his father’s calling–killing ghosts. He has a special knife, and he can sense ghosts, so when ghosts harm the living, Cas and his knife move them along to their next life. It’s a lonely life, and one that has kept him from making friends, but […]

Hellboy Vol 11: The Bride of Hell and Others (2011) Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, Kevin Nowlan, Scott Hampton By all rights, I shouldn’t like the Hellboy comics at all. Except, how can I not love a story containing dialog like this? HEY EMILE! Cut it out. You’re making the dead people nervous. That bit was […]

Kitty Steals the Show (2012) Carrie Vaughn Kitty has come a long way from when she was first attacked. She’s now alpha of her own pack, and a public face for werewolves in the US, both because of her radio show, and her (involuntary) pubic outing as a were. That status has led to her […]

Gunmetal Magic (2012) Ilona Andrews This book is set in Kate’s world, and Kate (of course) make appearances, but this is the story of Andrea and Raphael. Andrea has been outed as a shapeshifter and forced out the Order, which has been her entire life. As a shapeshifter she is required by Pack Laws to […]

Once Burned (2012) Jeaniene Frost I seem to be on a roll. This is the second book in a WEEK I’ve read that doesn’t end cleanly. It wasn’t quite the cliffhanger that Tempest’s Fury was, but it did introduce issues and problems in the epilogue. And of COURSE this book JUST came out, so it’s […]

Tempest’s Fury (2012) Nicole Peeler Fury. Yes, that’s what I was feeling when I finished the book to a GIANT CLIFFHANGER. That was NOT cool. Especially since I’d really been enjoying the book up to that point. But now? Fury. OK, on her website she says this is the penultimate book of the Jane True […]

Urban Shaman (2005) C. E. Murphy Joanne Walker is flying home from her mother’s funeral with the expectation of being fired from her job as a mechanic for the Seattle police. Staring out the window of the plane as the come in for a landing, she sees a woman being chased. Even though she doesn’t […]

Kiss of Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep Gwen is now mostly settled into the Mythos Academy. She still feels like a fish out of water, but she has friends and is starting to enjoy at least some of her classes. But because she spent her childhood as a relatively normal kid, she now get private weapons […]

The Fixer: A Lawson Vampire Novel (2011) Jon F Merz Lawson is a Fixer. It’s his job to keep vampires in line, to make sure humans never discover their existence. Unfortunately for Lawson, Cosgrave, his greatest enemy and his biggest failure as a Fixer is in town looking to change the balance of power–while taking […]

Forbidden Blood: A House of Comarre Novella (2012) Kristen Painter This is a short story prequel to an existing series. I thought it would be worth checking out to see if I’d like the series. Maris belongs to Arnaud, a patron who doesn’t particularly like her or treat her well. She has her own agenda, […]

Within the Flames (2011) Marjorie M. Liu For the most part I’ve enjoyed Marjorie M. Liu’s Dirke & Steele series, but there have been a couple times I just couldn’t get into the story. This was one of those times. I started this months and months ago, but would read a few pages and then […]

Touch of Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep 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 […]

First Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep 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 […]

Locke & Key: Vol 1 Welcome to Lovecraft (2008) Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez Good, but really not my thing. Published by IDW

Doubletake (2012) Rob Thurman 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 […]

Born at Midnight (2011) C. C. Hunter 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 […]

Turned at Dark: A Bonus Shadow Falls Short Story (2011) C. C. Hunter 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. […]

Photographs & Phantoms (2011) Cindy Spencer Pape 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 […]

Undone Deeds (2011) Mark del Franco 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 […]

River Marked (2011) Patricia Briggs 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 […]

Raven Cursed (2012) Faith Hunter 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 […]

Cat Tales: Four Stories from the World of Jane Yellowrock (2011) Faith Hunter 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 […]

Something Wikkid This Way Comes (2012) Nicole Peeler 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 […]

Roadkill (2010) Rob Thurman 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 […]

Deathwish (2009) Rob Thurman 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 […]

Madhouse (2008) Rob Thurman 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 […]

Moonshine (2007) Rob Thurman 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 […]

Magic Gifts (2011) Ilona Andrews 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 […]

Nightlife (2006) Rob Thurman 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 […]

A Hard Day’s Knight (2011) Simon R. Green Walker is dead. Long live Walker. Because now John Taylor is Walker, and now it is his job to keep order (of a sorts) in Nightside. Unfortunately for him, someone has decided it’s time for Excalibur to make a reappearance in the world–and he needs to be […]

Naked City (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow This collection of urban fantasy stories has several of my favorite authors, so it was a no-brainer to get. The bad thing is that I’ve been reading this collection for several months, so I now have no idea what the stories at the start of the anthology were […]

Dracula in London (2004) edited by P.N. Elrod I give up. After six months I’m about three-quarters of the way through, and haven’t enjoyed one single story I’ve read. I generally like P.N. Elrod’s stories, and I’ve read several other anthologies she has edited, all of which I’ve enjoyed, but these stories? No. Yuck. One […]

Fate’s Edge (2011) Ilona Andrews I have to say I’m glad I didn’t notice the floating man head until after I finished the book, because that floating man head totally doesn’t look like how I pictured Keldar. Keldar is a rogue. That floating head? Just… doesn’t look smart enough to pull off the part. But […]

The Best Paranormal Crime Stories Ever Told (2010) edited by Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers I wouldn’t say the best necessarily, but it’s not a bad selection of stories. And the fact that I got to read it for free probably helped. “Appetite for Murder” is Simon R. Green story that does not feature […]

Boneshaker (2009) Cherie Priest I started this book the week Grandmom went into the hospital. Unsurprisingly, it took me a bit to get back to it, as I remembered almost nothing of what I read–not because of the story, but because I was distracted. Briar Wilkes had been married to a man claimed to have […]

Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Fourth (and last?) book of the Night Watch series. I’d actually forgotten a good deal of this, probably because I’d only read it once. Published by Mirimax Books

Twilight Watch (2003/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Third book of my reread of Night Watch. This one contained some of the must surprising events. Published by Miramax

Day Watch (2000/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Second book in the Night Watch series as I continued my reread. I love his world building. Published by Miramax

Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield I have a HUGE to-be-read pile, so what do I want to read? Things I’ve read before. Go figure. However, Night Watch is well worth a re-read. Published by Miramax Books / Hyperion

Dark Entries (2009) Ian Rankin, Werther Dell’Edera I have a conflicted relationship with John Constantine stories. I love the idea of who Constantine is, but for some reason the stories always fall short of my expectations in some manner. But when I saw that Ian Rankin–whose John Rebus mysteries I love–had written a Constantine graphic […]

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010) Lish McBride Sam can’t decide what to do with himself, which means that by default he has fallen to the painful default of food service. His life is going nowhere, he’s job is crap, but he has friends, and friends can make anything easier. Even drawing the attention of a […]

The Devil You Know (2009) P. N. Elrod I like PN Elrod’s Jack Fleming series. Jack is a vampire, living in the 1930s, who works as a private eye, owns a nightclub, and quite accidentally developed ties to the Chicago mob. It’s fun, and I enjoy the setting immensely. In this story, Jack receives a […]

One Salt Sea (2011) Seanan McGuire Most fantasy series, the longer the series goes on, the weaker the stories get. Or perhaps the series remains strong, but for a book or two it seems like the author is struggling to figure out where they are going with the characters. Or, to work with the overarching […]

Eye of the Tempest (2011) Nicole Peeler There are so many things about this book I should hate–boinking and cliffhangers being the top two–yet I love Jane True and this series. The story takes off where the previous book ended. Jane and Anyan are newly returned to Rockbill after the dire events of the previous […]

Ghost of a Smile (2011) Simon R. Green As much as I enjoy Simon R. Green’s writing, and as much is it frequently makes me laugh, I found Ghost of a Smile to be disappointing. There is still plenty of dialogue to make me happy: “That’s it?” said JC, after Happy had been quite for […]

Kiss Me, Kill Me: A Paranormal Anthology (2011) Definitely a mixed bag. But for 99 cents, it’s hard to complain too much. “Impulse Control” by Susan Bischoff was very very good. It’s about teens with superheroes in a “school” for kids with “Talents”. Or more accurately, it’s little better than a prison for kids who […]