Down These Strange Streets (2011) edited by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin If you look at the list of authors above, you’ll immediately see why I read this series. There are some of my favorite authors here–many of whom write short stories I tend to love. And surprisingly, I loved most of these […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) edited by Paula Guran As with many anthologies, this one has some stories I especially liked, and others I didn’t care for at all. I believe I’ll focus on the ones I liked. The anthology opens with Holly Black‘s story, “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.” This was an unusual take […]
Kitty’s Greatest Hits (2011) Carrie Vaughn Kitty’s Greatest Hits is a short story anthology, so its timeline is interwoven between the various Kitty books. There are also several stories that don’t have Kitty in them at all, although most of those stories contain peripheral characters, and all are set within Kitty’s world. I’d read several […]
Kitty’s Big Trouble (2011) Carrie Vaughn Kitty’s latest interest is finding historical figures that may have been supernatural creatures. Someone sends her some indirect evidence that General Sherman may have been a were, but Kitty’s attempts to have his body exhumed and tested are adamantly denied (and rightfully so). Then she comes across a story […]
This Side of the Grave (2011) Jeaniene Frost The head of the ghouls is fomenting trouble, claiming that Cat is involved in an attempt to subjugate the entire supernatural world, and if they don’t take care of her now, they’ll end up her (and the vampire’s) slaves. Unfortunately, some of Cat’s unique abilities and needs […]
Full Moon City (2010) edited by Darrell Schweitzer and Martin H Greenberg I love anthologies. Though I have to admit that with the way paranormal romance has taken off, the ratio of wheat to chaff has been unfavorable for me. However, Carrie Vaughn and Peter S. Beagle were pretty compelling reasons to get this anthology. […]
First Drop of Crimson (2010) Jeaniene Frost I actually really like Jeaniene Frost’s writing, and loved all of the Night Huntress books I’ve read so far, even the ones I picked up in trepidation, thinking, “this can’t possibly be anywhere nears as good as I’m remembering the earlier books in the series to be.” However, […]
Mercy Blade (2011) Faith Hunter This is the third Jane Yellowrock novel, and I’m still thoroughly enjoying the story line. Jane has taken on the job of rogue hunter for the New Orleans’ vampire clans, and is in the process of emptying her apartment in Appalachia to move south when a news broadcast announces the […]
Running with the Pack (2010) edited by Ekaterina Sedia When I saw there was a new werewolf anthology edited by Ekatrerina Sedia with a story by Carrie Vaughn I automatically ordered it. Then of course, once it arrived, it sat around like anthologies tend to do, waiting for the “right” time to read it. But […]
Dark and Stormy Knights (2010) edited by P.N. Elrod I can’t help myself–I love anthologies. And fantasy anthologies with writers who write their fantasy with a healthy does of mystery? Sign me up! All anthologies have high and low points, but overall this was a fairly strong group of stories. The book starts off with […]
Blameless (2010) Gail Carriger I loved Soulless, the first book in this series. I thought Changeless was good with the exclusion of the ending, which I despised, so I had mixed feelings about starting Blameless. Alexia is pregnant, and Lord Maccon–who is a werewolf and an immortal–has thrown her out, believing that the child cannot […]
Dead and Gone (2009) Charlaine Harris When I first discovered the Sookie Stackhouse books the were like a revelation: Romance can be fun? Really? And they were fun! Mysteries, vampires and sex that wasn’t completely ridiculous! Then at some point, they started to get ridiculous. It seemed as if every supernatural creature adored and wanted […]
Jailbait Zombie (2009) Mario Acevedo Synopsis: Felix Gomez has zombie problems, specifically, the Araneum wants him to find the source of the current zombie infestation and put a stop to it. To add insult to injury, the don’t even seem to trust him and are sending Jolie to help him with the task. It’s probably […]
Changeless (2010) Gail Carriger Well, that was disappointing. As I have mentioned repeatedly before, I really dislike cliffhanger endings. When I read a book, I like the story arc to end at the end of the book. This doesn’t mean I dislike threads that carry from story to story–that’s fine. But what I do NOT […]
The Undead Kama Sutra (2008) Mario Acevedo Felix Gomez is again on the case–or rather cases as his luck would have it. First a dying alien asks Felix to find his killer, then orders come down from the Araneum too looking into a plane crash. Meanwhile, he’d come to Florida on his own to investigate […]