Night Broken (2014) Patricia Briggs Book 8 finds Beauclaire wanting his father’s walking stick back from Mercy. “Beauclaire knew that someone was going to have to take out Lugh. He was, apparently, girding up his loins to do just that when Da took care of it. That didn’t mean he didn’t swear vengeance.” Adam’s ex-wife […]
Frost Burned (2013) Patricia Briggs Book 7 finds Mercy adjusting to married life–and being a step mother. It also has Mercy attempting to discover what has happened to the entire pack, when they are kidnapped by rogue federal agents. This book has several scenes that have stuck with me, including Mercy throwing up on Kyle’s […]
River Marked (2011) Patricia Briggs Book 6 is Mercy’s wedding to Adam, and further problems with the Fae and other supernatural creatures. And their honeymoon. “Are we going to Portland?” I asked. “Or Multnomah Falls?” He smiled at me. “Go to sleep.” I waited three seconds. “Are we there yet?” However, on the good side, […]
Silver Borne (2010) Patricia Briggs Book 5 finds the Fae wanting an item back from Mercy–except that she’s not certain just what is is they want back, and also finds the pack using those bonds against Mercy. I stumbled back away from the truck, shaking and sweating in the night air, the fae stick in […]
Bone Crossed (2009) Patricia Briggs The 4th Mercy Thompson book follows immediately after the events in book three–actually it replays and finishes the scene that the third book closes, and I appreciate the way this scene plays out. Mercy had really awful things happen to her in the previous book, and it seemed like she’d […]
Iron Kissed (2008) Patricia Briggs This is probably the hardest Mercy story to read, but I read it, and cried like I always do. Samuel had learned to write before typewriters and computers rendered penmanship an art practiced by elementary school children. His notes always looked like formal wedding invitations. “Shoot,” he said, the word […]
Blood Bound (2007) Patricia Briggs This is the second Mercy Thompson book, and finds Mercy paying back her debt to Stephan that was incurred in the first book. Why couldn’t the people I cared about just need someone to fix their cars? I could do that. I especially like the end of this story, where […]
Moon Called (2006) Patricia Briggs And now comes the re-reading of the Mercy Thompson series. Here’s the back-cover blurb: Mercy Thompson’s life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she’s fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn’t exactly normal herself. I […]
Cry Wolf (2008) Patricia Briggs This is the first full Alpha & Omega novel, and takes place immediately after the events in the novella. (And by immediately, I mean, the next day.) Charles’ Brother Wolf has claimed Anna as mate, but as Anna knows very little about being a werewolf, and absolutely nothing about being […]
Alpha & Omega (2007) Patricia Briggs (found in Shifting Shadows) The novella Alpha & Omega first appeared in On the Prowl, which I picked up only for the Patricia Briggs story. I recommend getting Shifting Shadows rather than that. That is not, by the way, the cover for either Shifting Shadows or Alpha & Omega, […]
Jinn and Juice (2014) Nicole Peeler I absolutely adored the Jane True series, and so I eagerly ordered this book. Then I got it, started it, and then put it right back down. It just didn’t grab me the way the Jane True series did. But recently I decided that I was going to give […]
She-Hulk Vol. 1: Law and Disorder (2014) Charles Soule, Javier Pulido, and Ron Wimberly The A-Force Presents Vol I was my introduction to Jennifer Walters. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy her story (after all, she’s not damaged and conflicted–she’s instead stable with a good head on her shoulders). But I wasn’t expecting a well-adjusted lawyer, […]
Black Widow Vol. 3: Last Days (2015) Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto This is the closing volume of the Black Widow trilogy, and was very — difficult and depressing aren’t quite the right words, but much of it was hard to read. We see glimpses of Natasha’s past through the story, and the volume closes […]
Black Widow Vol. 2: The Tightly Tangled Web (2015) Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto This is the second volume of Nathan Edmondson’s Black Widow run, and although I enjoyed it, parts of it were difficult to follow because I am not immersed in the Marvel Avengers world. Winter Soldier, Punisher–apparently Black Widow appeared in these […]
Rivers of London: Body Work (2015) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, and Luis Gurrero If you’ve been paying any attention, you know that I have a deep and (probably) unhealthy love of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. So when I saw there was going to be a comic, I searched because BY GOD […]
Black Widow Volume 1: The Finely Woven Thread (2015) Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto Oh, I liked this one lots! I have not seen the Avenger movies, or read any of the Avenger comics–I just know tangential bits picked up from here and there (because: geek). Natasha is the Black Widow, who was formerly a […]
A-Force Presents Vol. 1 (2015) by G. Willow Wilson, Nathan Edmondson, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Jason Aaron, Phil Noto, David Lopez, Adrian Alphona, Russell Dauterman This is brilliant. These are six introductory stories to six female characters in the Marvel world: Black Widow, Captain marvel, Thor, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. It’s a […]
Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly (2015) Patricia Briggs and Tom Garcia I’m a huge fan of the Mercy Thompson series, and also love Patricia Briggs’ short stories, so although I didn’t love the first Mercy Thompson graphic novel I read, I got this because I do like her short stories. This story puts a great deal […]
Fairest Vol. 5: The Clamour for Glamour And now, the final volume of Fairest. Like the previous volumes, this timeline is simultaneous with that of Fables, so although there aren’t any spoilers in either direction, you kind of need to know what was happening in Fables to completely understand everything here. That said, there was […]
Fables Vol. 22: Farewell (2015) This one has only been sitting on my coffee table for a month, waiting for a day when I could read through the last two volumes in one sitting. I think it’ll take me awhile–and probably a re-read of the entire series–to decide how I feel about these last two […]
Fables Vol. 21: Happily Ever After (2015) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, and Andrew Pepoy This is the penultimate Fables volume, and it’s been sitting on my coffee table since May (release date) waiting to be read. It’s for the best that I put off reading it until the final volume also arrived, as […]
Ms. Marvel Vol. 3: Crushed (2015) G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Elmo Bondoc The third volume of Ms. Marvel finds Kamala Khan still struggling with her identity as an Inhuman, but also with keeping the secret from her family. There are a lot of amusing jokes for older readers here–references to many general pop-culture geek […]
Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) edited by Paula Guran “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” by Holly Black “This Is Now” by Michael Marshall Smith “Sisters” by Charles de Lint “The Screaming” by J.A. Konrath “Zen and the Art of Vampirism” by Kelley Armstrong “La Vampiresse” by Tanith Lee “Dead Man Stalking” by Rachel Caine “The […]
Werewolf Smackdown (2010) Mario Acevedo I’m a sucker for supernatural detectives (See: Simon Green & P.N. Elrod) so I snatched up the first Felix Gomez books when I came across them, then I seem to have forgotten about them, so when I had the chance to pick up Werewolf Smackdown on sale, I grabbed it. […]
Low Midnight (2014) Carrie Vaughn This is book 13 in the Kitty the Werewolf series, but Kitty is NOT the main character. This is Cormac’s book… well, Cormac and Amelia, the ghost who lives in Cormac’s head. I’ll be honest, I didn’t much care for the previous Kitty book, Kitty in the Underworld, but it […]
Who Buries the Dead (2015) C.S. Harris Set in London in 1813. “In my experience, people who view others as social or financial assets rarely do accumulate close friends.” A body is discovered at Bloody Bridge–its head sitting on the brick wall, the body lying nearby in the grass. At first, there seems to be […]
Dead Heat (2015) Patricia Briggs This is the fourth Alpha & Omega series, the story of Charles and Anna. Charles is the enforcer for all the werewolves in North America, and Anna is his wife–a werewolf herself who he rescued from a pack gone bad. If you have not read the previous books in the […]
Girl Genius Volume 13: Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City (2014) Phil & Kaja Foglio Needs more Jagers. Rating: 7/10 Published by Studio Foglio
Girl Genius Volume 12: Siege of Mechanicsburg (2013) Phil & Kaja Foglio The problem with Girl Genius is that it’s been running so long I forget much of what has happened previously. And the fact that I’ve had this volume for about a year before getting around to reading it doesn’t help. This doesn’t mean […]
Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal (2014) G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphonsa Marvelous! This is a lot of fun, and had me giggling multiple times! Kamala Khan is your average 16-year-old Muslim girl living in New Jersey–which means there is nothing average about her. She wants all the things she can’t have–or isn’t allowed to […]
Fairest Vol. 4: Cinderella – Of Men and Mice (2014) Mark Andreyko, Shawn McManus I’ve been hit or miss with the Fables spin-off series. I hated Jack, didn’t much care for Cinderella, but have quite enjoyed Fairest. But I was hesitant when I saw the latest volume of Fairest was Cinderella. This series continues to […]
Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs This is the third Alpha & Omega story, and although it is about Anna and about Charles coming to terms with the changes in his position as the Marrok’s enforcer, but even more important are the changes to the world that Anna & Charles and Mercy Thompson live in. Throughout […]
Fables Vol. 20: Camelot (2014) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Russ Braun, Barry Kitson I actually read this last month, but since it was on the day we caught the train, I forgot about it when I came back. It wasn’t until I was trying to clear off the table I remembered I’d hadn’t […]
Frost Burned (2013) Patricia Briggs Mercy and her step-daughter, Jesse, are hitting the Black-Friday sales when a panic attack causes Mercy to wreck her rabbit. When she can’t reach anyone to come pick her up, she discovers that with a few exceptions, the entire pack has been kidnapped—which takes some doing, kidnapping an entire pack […]
Downfall (2014) Rob Thurman I fully admit that I have been avoiding reading this book. As the series has gone it, it has become more and more clear that Niko and Cal won’t outlive each other. If one is killed, the other will fall soon after, most likely in a horribly violent and destructive way, […]
Hunting Ground (2009) Patricia Briggs The second Alpha & Omega book finds Charles & Anna sent to broker negioations with the European werewolves, to find a way to make the Marrock’s bringing the American werewolves out of the supernatural closet. The biggest problem is going to be the head of the European werewolves, who is […]
River Marked (2011) Patricia Briggs Although Mercy and Adam are supposed to be on their Honeymoon, unexpected gifts from the fae lead to (when dealing with fae anyway) the expected consequences, of danger and threat. But more importantly, we learn more about Mercy’s father, and finally meet Coyote (THE Coyote). Figures that are both tricksters […]
Silver Bourne (2010) Patricia Briggs This story has three separate story arcs: Mercy receives a call from Tad, asking her to check on the owner of the book fae book she borrowed, Samuel has started to sink further into his misery, and Mercy begins truly to have problems with the Pack, now that she and […]
Cry Wolf (2008) Patricia Briggs My reaction to this book, re-reading it and after reading half the Mercy books and the short story anthology is quite different from my initial read. First and foremost, I realized this story is as much about Asil and Bran as it is about Anna and Charles. I’ve grown to […]
Bone Crossed (2009) Patricia Briggs This book makes up for very end of the last book, where only a week after her rape, it seems like Mercy is ready to jump into bed with Adam. She isn’t and she doesn’t, and Adam wouldn’t. So points all around for Adam. And it’s good that things are […]
Iron Kissed (2008) Patricia Briggs I had forgotten just how dark this story was. Bad things happen to Mercy. Very bad things. And Mercy just doesn’t brush these things off, which means seeing Mercy suffer as she tries to recover. It’s very hard to read. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very well done, and it’s […]
Blood Bound (2007) Patricia Briggs This is a second book in the Mercy Thompson series, and finds Mercy inadvertently caught up in vampire business. There are so many little tidbits that I enjoy, dropped randomly throughout the books. The Marrok, the leader of the North American werewolves, insists that all of the wolves wear a […]
Moon Called (2006) Patricia Briggs I started listening to the Audible version of Moon Called, and I don’t know if it was the narrator, the fact that I’ve been so blown away by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith who reads Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series, or a combination of both, but I just couldn’t listen to it. So, […]
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2014) Patricia Briggs As I’ve mentioned previously (and repeatedly) I love short stories. They’re a hard thing to love sometimes, because there are so many poorly written ones out there. Luckily for me, Patricia Briggs tends to do them well, so I didn’t hesitate to pick […]
Kitty’s Greatest Hits (2011) Carrie Vaughn Il Est Ne (Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (2008)) A Princess of Spain (The Secret History of Vampires (2007)) Conquistador de la Noche (Subterranean Online (2009)) The Book of Daniel (Talebones #39 (2009)) The Temptation of Robin Green (The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance (2009)) Looking After Family (Realms of Fantasy […]
A Poisoned Season (2007) Tasha Alexander The second Lady Emily mystery finds Lady Emily Ashton still trying to find her place in society as a widow, and battling her mother’s domineering attempts to get Emily remarried. Emily is still refusing Colin Hargreaves offer of marriage, but not because she doesn’t love him, but because she […]
Black Arts (2014) Faith Hunter And now I’m all caught up on Jane Yellowrock–at least until the new book comes out in October. The book opens with Jane under attack–from Evan Trueblood, who believes that Jane is hiding his wife, Molly. Jane and Evan came to an uneasy truce in an earlier book, but Molly […]
Blood Trade (2013) Faith Hunter The sixth book in the Jane Yellowrock series finds Jane very much out of sorts. She hasn’t heard from Molly since the death of Evangelina, Rick is mad at her (because she thought he shot her), she’s still mad at Bruiser, and Beast is chained to Leo. But a job […]
Death’s Rival (2012) Faith Hunter Jane is back to working for Leo, and she’s out West to gather blood samples from sick vamps–and vamps aren’t supposed to be able to get sick. There is a lot that happens here. Jane has to pay the piper for statements she made earlier (in the last book). There’s […]
Raven Cursed (2012) Faith Hunter Book four in the Jane Yellowrock series finds Jane back in North Carolina, running security for a meeting between a representative from New Orleans and Lincoln Shadrock, a vampire who wants to become a Master. It’s also where Molly is, but Evan wants Molly to have nothing to do with […]