Undead and Unwed (2004) MaryJanice Davidson Betsy thought things couldn’t get much worse when she got fired from her job. She soon discovered that was wrong, when she woke up in a coffin (after being smashed by a truck) dressed in pink and wearing her step-mother’s castoff shoes. So, first and foremost Undead and Unwed […]
X-Rated Bloodsuckers (2007) Mario Acevedo Felix Gomez went to Iraq a soldier but returned a vampire, so with his unique skill set, decided that becoming a private eye would be the best career he could make. He’s good enough that he can choose the cases he wants, but is intrigued when Katz Meow asks him […]
Backup (2008) Jim Butcher At last, we get to see into to mind of someone other than Harry Dresden–and get a glimpse of Harry from the outside–albeit the somewhat adoring eyes of his brother Thomas. We also get to a glimpse of the interior life of Thomas. He considers himself a monster, but he continues […]
The Nymphos of Rocky Flats (2006) Mario Acevedo Michael was actually the one to pick this up, and was also the first to read it. When he finished it, he said it was funny, and that he thought I would like it. Well, it is funny. And I did like it. But I didn’t love […]
The Becoming (2004) Jeanne C. Stein Anna Strong is a bounty hunter. She and her partner David are trying to bring in a bail jumper when he attacks them both, and his attack on Anna turns her into a vampire. (This isn’t a secret. This story is about how she becomes a vampire.) So. Another […]
Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 (1983) Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka Amano, translated by Kevin Leahy I first encountered Yoshitaka Amano’s work in his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on Sandman The Dream Hunters. I loved both the story and the art, and ended up buying his “Fairies” which is just as gorgeous. So when I picked up […]
All Together Dead (2007) Charlaine Harris It’s been awhile since I read a new Sookie Stackhouse story. They’re now published in hardback first, and as much as I enjoy her stories and her writing, I don’t much care for hardback books. I also wasn’t sure they were worth $25. So I placed it on pre-order […]
Once Bitten, Twice Shy (2007) Jennifer Rardin I picked up this book, couldn’t decide how I felt about it, and thought I’d read a little more. But before I’d decided if I liked it or not, I realized I was more than halfway through the book, so I may as well just finish it. Jaz […]
Bitten (2001) Kelly Armstrong I had several people recommend Bitten to me as a supernatural fantasy I’d enjoy. I started reading it, wasn’t interested, and then took it with me to the dentist. I discovered that by the time I got to the first chapter I was sucked in. This story had excellent world and […]
Already Dead (2005) Charlie Huston Joe Pitt is a vampire who was a small time punk and thug before he was turned. After he was turned, he spent some time working as an enforce and, not to thrilled with that line of work either, then ended up Rogue, doing his freelance work and pretty much […]
Kitty and the Silver Bullet (2007) Carrie Vaughn The fourth kitty book sees Kitty returning to Denver for a family emergency. Unfortunately, he return places her in the middle of a vampire turf war where she is requested to take sides. As this was the fourth Kitty book, was I a little leery when I […]
Many Bloody Returns (2007) edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner I pre-ordered this, not realizing it was in hardback. As much as I love anthologies, I’m not that excited about hardback books–especially anthologies where I don’t know all the authors or the quality of the stories. Many Bloody Returns pretty much tells you […]
Chibi Vampire Vol. 1 (2003) Yuan Kagesaki Michael really likes Manga, so I’ve been looking for a series that looks appealing to me, to see if I can figure out what he likes so much. Chibi Vampire has a very interesting premise, so I thought I’d see if I liked it. Karin is a reverse […]
New Amsterdam (2007) Elizabeth Bear Imagine North America where there was never a Revolutionary War against the British. Where England and France and Spain control North American colonies. France controls Canada and Louisiana. Spain controls the West Coast. And England still controls the original colonies. It’s 1899. Magic and technology exist together. Despite the tensions […]
Twilight Watch (2003/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield I tend to hoard books–when I buy a book I expect to be good, I’ll often wait several weeks before reading it, because it’s nice to have something I expected to be good in the line-up. But sometimes I’m looking forward to a book so much […]
Magic Bites (2007) Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels works as a mercenary in a world that used to be ours, where technology is losing out to magic. Vampires are not romantic creatures (think the older vampires on Buffy) the vampire faction is held at bay by the shape shifters–neither group can take control, which is probably […]
Every Which Way But Dead (2005) Kim Harrison It actually took me several weeks to read Every Which Way But Dead. It ended up in my jacket pocket for riding on the PRT and sitting in waiting rooms, so I was only reading a few pages at a time. However, I eventually reached a place […]
The Repentant (2003) edited by Brian M. Thomsen and Martin H. Greenberg I love short stories, so I tend to pick up anthologies when I come across them–assuming they look even remotely interesting. The Repentant looked particularly interesting, since it had several authors I particularly like: Tanya Huff, P.N. Elrod, and especially Nina Kiriki Hoffman. […]
Moonshine (2007) Rob Thurman Moonshine is the sequel to Nightlife. Now that Cal and Niko have defeated the monsters who were trying to possess Cal, they have moved onto the more mundane task of simply living their lives–something they were never given the luxury to do when they were constantly on the run. They’re currently […]
Blood Bound (2007) Patricia Briggs Blood Bound is the sequel to Moon Called, and continues the story of Mercy Thompson, a mechanic and a walker. A walker is similar to–but not the same as–a werewolf. What she has is an inborn power to change form at will, and that shifting isn’t tied to the moon. […]
Touch the Dark (2006) Karen Chance Cassandra is a clairvoyant who is on the run from her former vampire master. After she receives a death notice on her computer, she flees, taking only her gun from her office, and stopping only to warn her roommate that there is danger coming, and he shouldn’t go home. […]
The Dark Sleep (1999) P.N. Elrod I don’t know how I messed it up, but somehow I thought that The Dark Sleep came after Lady Crymsyn. This would be wrong. The Dark Sleep precedes Lady Crymsyn. Luckily, both are stand alone books, so I didn’t lose anything by reading them out of order. This was […]
Lady Crymsyn (2000) P.N. Elrod After finishing the last three books, I was reluctant to read this book, for fear it would continue what felt to me as a downward spiral. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Lady Crymsyn went back to the things that I had liked so much about the previous […]
A Chill in the Blood (1998) P. N. Elrod The best thing about A Chill in the Blood is that it finishes the story arc started in Fire in the Blood. Angela Paco and Vaughn Kyler are fighting for control of Chicago and Jack and Charles are caught between, with both gangs believing that Jack […]
Blood on the Water (1992) P. N. Elrod Okay. Now I’m starting to get frustrated. This is the second book with an unfinished story arc. It’s not quite as bad as the previous book, but it’s still frustrating. Blood on the Water picks up immediately after the end of Fire in the Blood. And by […]