Archer’s Lady (2012) Moira Rogers This is the next book in the Bloodhounds series, and IS A BOINKING BOOK. LOTS OF BOINKING. Just so you know. Why do I keep reading this? Because I find the world she created fascinating. Bloodhounds are humans who were created/remade/manipulated to fight vampires. They have keep the towns in […]
Hunter’s Prey (2012) Moira Rogers First things first, THIS IS A BOINKING BOOK. See the publisher? Samhain Publishing, Ltd? They print erotica. So you have been warned. But here’s the thing. I really really like her world building. Wild West, except that vampires exist in the wilds, and frontier towns are subject to raids by […]
Graveminder (2011) Melissa Marr Rebekkah Barrow is called back to Claysville for the death of her grandmother, the Graveminder. Byron Montgomery has gone into the family business, and helps his father at their funeral home. But the death of Maylene Barrow, Rebekkah’s grandmother, makes him there’s way more going on than he’s been told. This […]
Thomas the Rhymer (1990) Ellen Kushner Of course I’d read this before. But after rereading Swordspoint, I wanted to read it again. This is actually a novel based upon the folklore and myth surrounding Thomas the Rhymer, told in four parts. The first is told by Gavin, a crofter, living in the hills with his […]
The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (2011) Kady Cross Finley Jane has just been throw out of her most recent position. After seeing the governess in the house slap one of her charges, Finley retaliates with a punch that quite literally knocks out the woman’s teeth. With trepidation, she returns home–to the bookstore her mother […]
In Sea-Salt Tears (2012) Seanan McGuire The Luidaeg has been a complicated character throughout the October Daye series. This story gives us a glimpse of the relationship between the Selkie and The Luidaeg. The only way a selkie can become a true fey is to inherit one. But there aren’t many skins, so most selkie […]
Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs My. I was not expecting where that went. Now that the werewolves have been outed, the Marrock has been far more strict about enforcing the rules. And Charles, as his enforcer, has been very busy. He has also become haunted by those he is forced to kill, and those ghosts […]
My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon (2007) P.N. Elrod The follow up to My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, at least in theme. This was a very mixed bag. Some of the stories were good, some I could barely stand to finish, and in fact, put this anthology down several times, for something (anything?) I liked a […]
Discount Armageddon: An InCryptid Novel (2012) Seanan McGuire Verity Price is a cryptozoologist. And dancer. And member of a renegade family that supports the rights of cryptids to live as long as they don’t kill humans. Cryptids? They’re the monsters that go bump in the night. The creatures of myth and folklore. There is so […]
Graceling (2009) Kristin Cashore It took me a couple of tries to get into Graceling, but once I did, I ended up staying WAY up past my bedtime to finish it. Katsa is a Graceling–a person with different colored that denote that she is a gift–a special power. Every Graceling has unique powers, and Katsa […]
Dragon in the System (2007) Cindy Spenser Pape So, another boinking book by Cindy Spencer Paper. Again, I didn’t buy it for the boinking, but because I enjoy her world building, and because it was $1.49. Lori is a herpetologist (really! how awesome that the heroine loves lizards!) who has a broken engagement behind her, […]
Easy (2012) Tammara Webber Wow. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this story. As I started the first chapter, I REALLY wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this story. The book opens with Jacqueline suffering a sexual assault–a friend of her ex-boyfriend attempts to rape her. That’s a pretty heavy start to a […]
Steel’s Edge (2012) Ilona Andrews According to Ilona Andrews, this is the last book in the Edge series. In the future they may write in this world (and about some of these characters) again, but as it is, they’re done with The Edge series. Second point, this is a relatively long book. Although the story […]
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon I am really enjoying this series, and REALLY like Lord John. Lord John’s mother is getting remarried. Hal and John choose to meet with General Sir George Stanley, so Hal can make sure he’ll be acceptable for their mother, at which time they also […]
And Only to Deceive (2005) Tasha Alexander I read And Only to Deceive back in 2007 and found it a disappointment–I wanted a straight up mystery, but instead god a romance with elements of mystery. So how did I feel upon a re-read? I still very much liked the arc of Lady Emily discovering who […]
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon I read a Lord John short story by Diana Gabaldon in the anthology Down These Strange Streets, and if you know anything about my reading preference, you should be impressed when I tell you it was a zombie story, and I still wanted to search out […]
Moonlight & Mechanicals (2012) Cindy Spencer Pape I think the reason I’m enjoying the stories so much is because they’re only novellas so they’re not full price. I can justify a couple bucks for a whimsical short story/novella. That’s not to say these are bad stories, because they aren’t. I very much like the world-building, […]
Taken at Dusk (2012) C. C. Hunter Kylie Galen is still struggling to discover who she is. She believes she is meeting her couple who adopted her father as a baby, and hopes they will have answers to her questions, but the meeting leaves only further questions. In addition to questions she cannot answer, she […]
A Discovery of Witches (2011) Deborah Harkness I picked this up on sale, and one day when I was waiting and didn’t have a book, started reading it. Problem with this is that I missed part of the title: “All Souls Trilogy.” I was getting towards the end when I realized there was no way […]
Death’s Rival (2012) Faith Hunter Jane has tried to escape Leo Pellisier and the vampires of New Orleans, however, something–or someone–is making vampires all over the country sick, so Jane heads out to collection information (and generally act as Leo’s Enforcer). Jane has been walking a very fine line (and not even walking it at […]
Hush Money (2010) Susan Bischoff Several months ago I read the story Impulse Control, set in the same world as Hush Money, and really liked it. So I bought Hush Money, and then kept thinking, “I don’t think I want to read this right now.” I don’t know why I do these things. Something happened, […]
Magic Dreams (2011) Ilona Andrews Huh. This is a reread, but I can’t find my original review. Apparently, I didn’t read all the stories in the anthology this was originally in, and so I never wrote a review. So, this first appeared in the anthology, Hexed, which I have but seemingly only read one story […]
Kilts & Kraken (2012) Cindy Spencer Pape I must admit I’ve been enjoying this series of novellas. The lovely steampunk and strong female characters offset the boinking (which, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not my thing.) Dr. Geneva MacKay (Genny to her family) has worked very hard to establish herself as a rare […]
A Fatal Waltz (2008) Tasha Alexander Lady Emily’s marriage to Colin Hargreaves was put off when Lord Fortescue arranged to have Hargreaves sent overseas on a mission. Fortescue opposes Emily’s marriage to Colin and will do everything possible to end their engagement. Thus it is with some surprise that Lady Emily finds herself invited to […]
Starcrossed (2011) Josephine Angelini Helen Hamilton lives on Nantucket and feels like the biggest freak on the island. She’s tall. She lives with her Dad because her mom abandoned them when she was a baby, And she can do things that other girls her age can’t do. She tries very hard to fit in but […]
A Poisoned Season (2007) Tasha Alexander I read the first book in this series several years ago, and was singularly unimpressed. Not the the writing or the characters, but because it was (like this book) subtitled: A Novel of Suspense. I still disagree with that subtitle, but after enough time had passed, I decided to […]
Hex Appeal (2012) edited by P.N. Elrod; Stories by P.N. Elrod, Carrie Vaughn, Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Simon R Green, Rachel Caine (and others) As I was expecting, this collection was a mixed bag. Luckily, the good stories were very good, and worth the price of the anthology. I bought the anthology first and foremost […]
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 […]
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 […]
Dark Frost (2012) Jennifer Estep Gwen Frost is finishing up one last assignment before winter break ends: she and her friends Daphne and Carson are touring a museum looking at magical artifacts important from the wars against Loki and his Reapers of Chaos, as are lots of other kids in her class. But Gwen is […]
A Dream of Stone and Shadow (2006) Marjorie M. Liu Charlie is a gargoyle, being held captive by a witch who enjoys taking advantage of some of his more… unusual properties. Emma is an abused child who Charlie’s spirit stumbles upon in its wanderings. Aggie is a member of Dirk & Steele who can catch […]
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 […]
Clockwork Angel (2010) Cassandra Clare Tessa Gray has come to London from New York after her aunt dies and her brother sends her a ticket to join him. Unfortunately, there are some unpleasant surprises for Tessa, starting with the fact that the world is not as she knows it, and this underworld is very interested […]
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 […]
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 […]
Of Swine and Roses (2011) Ilona Andrews Alena’s family is forcing her to go on a date with Chad Thurman, a thug, but a member of a family in a position to do Alena’s family a favor. Things go worse than anyone could have expected. This is a short story by Ilona Andrews–I have to […]
Brook Street: Thief (2012) Ava March Oh. Oh my. This is a boinking book. And I mean A BOINKING book. Guess that’s a major problem with Kindle books, is that when I “pick one up” to read, I don’t see the cover. I… I’m not quite sure what I was thinking when I got this […]
Lady of Quality (1972) Georgette Heyer Miss Annis Wychwood believes she is too old for marriage, and not wanting to spend the rest of her life being little more than an aunt to her brother’s children, she insists on setting up house for herself. Of course, no unmarried woman can live alone, so her cousin […]
A Conspiracy of Kings (2010) Megan Whalen Turner 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 […]
These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer This was a reread, just because I felt like it.
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. […]
Wilder’s Mate (2011) Moira Rogers 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 […]
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 […]
Sea Change (2011) Darlene Marshall One of the more unusual for me pleasures in my RSS feed is Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. It’s unusual because as a rule I do not enjoy romance. I just don’t. But when I browsed the review for Sea Change I decided that the premise was interesting enough I wanted […]
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 […]
Steam & Sorcery (2011) Cindy Spencer Pape First off, this is a Steampunk romance, with equal weight being given to both descriptors. So there is lots of boinking. However, aside from the boinking, there are interesting characters and some good world building. Sir Merrick Hadrian is a Knight of the Order of the Round table, […]