Book Review: DEAD, UNDEAD, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN by J. A. Saare

Rhiannon works as a bartender in a strip club and can see dead people. When a group of local vampires decide they need her to help solve the mysterious deaths of some of their friends, her life changes forever.

Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between was okay. I've never been a huge UF fan; kick-ass chicks are all well and good, but I can only maintain a limited interest in them (in print--this is another example of me having completely opposite tastes in TV and movies, because on screen I'm a huge fan of this stuff). Also, the tropes of the genre are just too ridiculous. They're like those adventure novels from the '60s where the guy has all these women throwing themselves at him for no good reason; except in UF novels it's a bunch of guys throwing themselves at a woman, and instead of fighting cannibalistic natives she fights vampires. I can handle some UF novels as long as I like the characters and there's plenty of romance (NOT every single male chasing after the one girl character, actual romance, like hearts and flowers and stuff); but while I liked the romance in this book, there wasn't a lot of it, and I thought the main character was a grump.

My general annoyance with these types of books aside, I probably would have enjoyed this particular novel more if I hadn't read the Anita Blake novels before it. I wouldn't call Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between derivative of that series, but there were certain scenes that felt like they were imagined directly out the Anita Blake universe, especially the scenes with Goose (a professional necromancer who is paid to settle things with the dead and can raise them and turn them into zombies). Rhiannon also reminded me of Anita Blake; but unlike Anita, who is tough as nails when she needs to be--but most of the time just really sarcastic--Rhiannon simply seemed bad-tempered. She reminded me of a teenager because she was always on bitch mode, and it didn't really seem justified. I can appreciate the fact that she has a temper, but almost everyone I know with a terrible temper seems pretty laid back until something sets them off. It's much more dramatic that way.

The author also hit on some of my personal pet peeves, like overzealous descriptions of clothing. ZOMG. I was literally begging her in my head to quit describing what everyone was wearing, not only because I didn't care and it was totally distracting, but because wearing an outfit consisting entirely of clothes all the same color is not fashion, okay? Honestly, the clothes were just boring, and if you're going to waste my time describing outfits FOR NO REASON, the clothes better at least not be boring.

Aside from what everyone was wearing, I didn't know what the point of a good half of the action was, and the fight scene descriptions were completely nonsensical. I know it doesn't really matter and these novels are really just about chicks kicking ass and then having sex with [insert paranormal creature here], but still. Scenes should, in a perfect world, have a point beyond exposition.

But! There were two things I definitely liked about Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between: first, Disco, who is the leader of one the "families" of vampires (why do vampires always travel in packs?). He was so cute and sweet! Second, the ending--about the last twenty percent or so--was where things finally got really interesting. Again, I'm not 100% sure why certain things were going on (why was Rhiannon wearing an obviously evil amulet all the time?), but at least I wanted to know.

So, all my personal grievances aside, those who enjoy urban fantasy and don't have migraine-inducing pet peeves about clothing descriptions probably won't have any problems with this novel. I have a feeling the series might pick up some steam as it goes on. And I want to say thanks to Colette from A Buckeye Girl Reads for convincing me to read this book and not being TOO upset that I didn't like Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between as much as she did.

Review: ICED by Karen Marie Moning

It's the Ryodan Show! Welcome to the Ryodan Show, where the world revolves around Ryodan, the most interesting man in the world. Ryodan knows mostly everything, but there's one thing he doesn't know: who, how, what, and why is freezing Unseelie in his club. For some reason he thinks Dani Mega O'Malley, a fourteen-year-old who fancies herself a superhero[ine], will be able to help him figure it out.

I was kind of excited about Iced, the first novel in a new series that takes place in the same world as the Fever series, Karen Marie Moning's über-successful PNR novels about a post-Apocalyptic world in Dublin. I loved the Fever series, which concluded last year. Dani, supposedly the main character in Iced and a supporting player in the Fever books, wasn't the most interesting person, but I wasn't opposed to her getting her own book.

Guys, I had so many problems with this novel. Whereas the Fever series felt like it knew exactly where it was going, and I could relate to the characters, Iced seemed like Moning was making it up as she went along. And I could not connect to Dani at all. Let's break it down a little, shall we?

• Dani--First and foremost, Iced does not feel like Dani's story. I'm honestly not sure whose story it is (Moning switches points of view a lot), but even though Dani gets most of the page time, I never got the sense I was reading her story. Secondly, she was completely unbelievable as a character. I was annoyed by Mac sometimes, but I was able to buy into her emotions and predicament. With Dani, I was just annoyed. She was way too OTT, from her crappy childhood to her reactions to EVERYTHING, to the fact that she didn't act like a believable fourteen-year-old. I can see where Moning was trying to make her *seem* like a teenager, but it didn't work for me. And speaking of age, this may be a stupid question, but why is Dani fourteen? Normally I don't care about characters' ages, but Moning makes a point of mentioning Dani's age (or lack thereof) every ten pages, and it doesn't contribute to the story at all. In fact, it works against the believability of the story pretty severely. 
• Chapter titles--All of the chapter titles are song lyrics. Now, quoting song lyrics in novels is generally a bad idea (they never mean the same thing to you as they do to other people, trust me on this), but using them as chapter titles wouldn't bother me if it wasn't symptomatic of the central problems with Iced. None of these characters are musicians. OR EVEN LISTEN TO MUSIC. There's no music in this book, which is set in an alternate world *in Dublin* anyway, so why are the chapters referencing contemporary and classic American rock? Makes absolutely zero sense.
• Ryodan and Christian--Ryodan was an okay character in the Fever series. I didn't give two shits about any of the Keltars, but that's probably because I didn't read that series by Moning set in Scotland, whatever it was. ANYway. My point here is this: Ryodan in Iced is boring. The way he ended every question with a period drove me bonkers. And the way he kept petting Dani was P R E T T Y creepy, almost as creepy as Christian stalking her. Especially considering she's four freaking teen. 
• Story and pacing--You know how I'm always harping on when the pirates go back to the island in Pirates of the Caribbean? Now imagine the entire movie where they just keep going back to the island. Iced is kind of like that; except instead of an island, Dani keeps going back to Chester's. It's like this: Chester's, plot; leave Chester's so we can get adventures and pointless backstory; go back to Chester's so we can get back to the plot. FOR THE LOVE GOD, this book could have been wrapped up in 250 pages if Dani'd just stayed in Chester's!

Basically I really did not get Iced. At all. It just seems like a really weird, meandery book where the author didn't fully think everything through and then the editor didn't ask the right questions. But obviously that's just my personal opinion. And on the plus side I don't have to buy any more books in this series, yay!

Review: BITING COLD by Chloe Neill

<<This review may does contain some spoilers, especially for the previous books in the Chicagoland Vampires books.>>

Merit--a grad student in English lit who was turned into a vampire against her will and now wields a katana--and Ethan, her sexy and doubly-undead sire, are on the trail of the Maleficium, an evil book of evilness whose powers Merit's former bestie wants to unleash on the world. But Malory isn't the only person who wants to use the Maleficium; so does former Chicago mayor and crazy person Seth Tate. But for what?

The only reason I wanted to read Biting Cold after Drink Deep (review here) was because I wanted to find out if Ethan was a zombie. I was totally rooting for Zombie Ethan. Unfortunately, he's NOT a zombie. WTF? Total wasted opportunity there. I'm still watching him though. You never know.



Now that we have that linchpin issue out of the way, let's move on the actual book. Overall, Biting Cold is actually better than Chloe Neill's last few books in the Chicagoland Vampires series. The beginning, where Ethan and Merit are traveling together to Nebraska, is pretty strong--Merit and Ethan have great chemistry, and Neill really sucks you straight into the story. That being said, even in this part of the book, there are so many things that are just too convenient for belief. Why are Tate and Mallory waiting until after sunset to look for the Maleficium? Considering Merit and Ethan are dead to the world (har har) during the day, wouldn't it make more tactical sense to try to take the Maleficium while they're asleep? And why does Tate announce to them that he's going for the book--just so they have more time to prepare for fighting two sups instead of one? Awfully nice of him.

Also, giant gumby gnomes? Really cheesy.

Then they go BACK to Chicago, and it's kind of like in Pirates of the Caribbean when the pirates go back to the island and you're like, "Uhg, really? You couldn't have just wrapped up this movie the first time you were on the island?" It feels liked the story takes a gigantic step backward, and as if my time has just been completely wasted. Why didn't Ethan and Merit stay in Chicago and phone the fight in? It would have ended exactly the same way if they had.

As I said, Biting Cold is better than the previous two books in the Chicagoland Vampires series--the food mentions are kept under control, there's more of a plot, and the conversations don't run in circles--but I think this might be my last read in the series. It seems as if there is absolutely no character consistency anymore, and they do whatever is convenient for story. As a result, I don't really care what happens to them (except for Morgan, of course). Oh well.

Review: THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

Sixteen-year-old Katniss lives in a post-apocalyptic North America, where every district is required to send two teenagers to participate in the Hunger Games--an annual fight to the death broadcast on live TV. Like Highlander, there can be only one; but unlike Highlander, there are no kilts or Scottish accents. Naturally, Katniss becomes a Hunger Games tribute and has to fight her way through a bunch of people who want to kill her. Is she going to survive?! Considering there are two more books, I'm guessing yes.

Yes, I finally read The Hunger Games. What took me so long? It had mainly to do with the insane popularity of this book, and also because it's the type of thing I wouldn't normally read if it WASN'T popular. I have to say I'm happy I read it, since at last I can finally understand what people are talking about half the time on twitter.

First things: this is a very well-written book, and it only gets better as it goes on. The last quarter of The Hunger Games is especially good, with an interesting twist and lots of action and great emotion from the characters.

That being said, the novel wasn't really what I was expecting. It's billed as a dytopian novel, but Panem doesn't seem THAT bad. There are the Hunger Games, yes--but at least there seems to be racial and gender equality, so that's something! Also, when I think of a dystopian novel, I think of a critique of government or society. While there's definitely some of that in The Hunger Games, mostly it's about a tough-ass chick trying to out-fight or -think her way past mean humans and even meaner animal hybrids, including human-wolf mutants (hulves?), while protecting innocents. So in that respect the book reads more like an urban fantasy than a dystopian novel, and people who like UF will probably love it.

I, however, am notorious for not liking UF. So I had some difficulties. These were only compounded by the fact that I found Katniss to be really annoying, what with the whining about how terrible her life in District 12 is, the sullenness and temper tantrums, and the constant second-guessing of other people's motives.

Thank god for Pita Bread Boy, because he's the only likable character in the entire novel and without him I would have been bored out of my mind. He is WAY too good for Katniss. These two apples have fallen from different trees, and I honestly don't see them as having a future together. It's like when you go to a foreign country and you hang out with people you would never normally would hang out with, just because they speak the same language you do. That's Katniss and Peeta in the Hunger Games.

I'm not sure if I'm going to read Catching Fire or not. On the one hand, I am invested in the Peeta/Katniss storyline at this point (in case you couldn't tell) and want to find out what happens; but on the other hand, sometimes things are better left to the imagination. I'll probably break down and read it because I'm curious like that.

Bottom line: this is a good book, and I liked it; but I couldn't really get into it to the point that I know others have. If you haven't read it, you should, if only to find out what a Haymitch and Cinna are.



Musical notes: "Friends" by Bette Midler. Katniss needs someone to sing this to her.

Review: DRINK DEEP by Chloe Neill

Guess what everybody?! I love Ethan now!

Kidding.

Drink Deep is the fifth book in Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series. Spoiler-free summary: it's about an English lit grad student called Merit who is turned into a vampire against her will, then has to deal with a whole bunch of supernatural drama. In Drink Deep, Chicago is being threatened by an unknown magical force that's turning Lake Michigan black, the sky red, and so on. Naturally, vampires are being blamed for everything, so Merit rides to the rescue.

After Hard Bitten (review here), like most readers I was hoping for some explanation about wtf just happened??? Because wow, that came out of nowhere. Unfortunately, Drink Deep brought on only more head-scratching. All the things that bugged me about Hard Bitten are present in Drink Deep, only they're magnified by the force of Very Weak Plot. After about fifty pages of long, pointless conversations, the obvious villain being obvious, and endless descriptions of eating, I realized that I either had to DNF this book or skim through it like a mutha. I chose the latter, mainly because I was dying to read the ending.

Here are some patterns I noticed while reading:

• Ethan, Gone But Not Forgotten  Hey, did you know Ethan's gone? What are you feelings on that, Merit? We all know how close you two were. I swear to GOD every character has this conversation with Merit at some point in the book. Mallory. Lyndsey. Luc. Dolores Umbridge guy from the GP. Catcher. Jonah. I mean, a conversation reminding us that, yes, Ethan is gone, is one thing; but after the fourth, I started to get a little excitable. And by excitable I mean throwing the book on the floor and running through the house going, "It's happening again! Again again!" and laughing hysterically. It got to the point where I would drink every time the exact phrase "Ethan's gone" appeared in the dialog--and if I'd been drinking something other than water, I'd have gotten really drunk. Instead I just needed to go to bathroom.
  
• Food  I love food as much as the next person, but the food mentions are getting out of control in this series. I don't know what a "red hot" is, but I do know I don't need to read about them every twenty pages. In previous books, the noshing was amusing because it highlighted that Ethan was 1. a prig, and 2. not of this century. Now it feels more like these novels should be renamed Caroline Merit: No Reservations.
• Jonah  As we all know, I'm not a fan of Ethan (see here and here and also here), but he did make the books interesting. He had personality. Jonah, Drink Deep's boy toy du jour, has ZERO personality. I liked him better when he was all grumbly and hated Merit. Does she HAVE to be attractive to every single person with a penis she comes across?
  
• And speaking of characters...  Inconsistency much? It seems like there have been major personality transplants in some of these characters. Take Morgan, for example--he's supposed to be the nice guy option, or at least he was in Some Girls Bite (review here). Now he's being described as having "the attitude of a sulking, bitter teenager." Say what? Mallory, Merit's practical bestie, is suddenly a raving lunatic; and Ethan was apparently off on a retreat to pick up male sensitivity in the twenty-first century. It seems like there are a lot of changes with the characters, but not much development leading up to it.
  

As for the ending, I've read other reviews where it was said the reunion between Merit and Ethan felt emotionally distant. I actually disagree with that; I thought Neill did a good job with the emotional aspects of Ethan's return. But it did seem like Ethan came back to life--if you know what I mean--awfully quickly. Like, aren't there tests someone can do? Take his blood pressure? Once again there wasn't much of an explanation for what happened, but everyone seemed to accept Ethan as hunky-dorey and move on. Basically, that feeling of wtf just happened???? Still having it.

Am I going to read the next Chicagoland Vampires book? Of course! I need to find out if Ethan starts hungering for brrrraaaaiiiiiinnnssss. I hope he does.

Book Review: HARD BITTEN by Chloe Neill

WORST. ENDING. EVER.

In book four of the Chicagoland Vampires series, Cadogan House and its fearless leader, Ethan Sullivan, are under threat from politicians local and abroad: Mayor Tate is threatening to arrest Ethan if he doesn't put a stop to dangerous blood raves, and the Greenwich Presidium (kind of like the vampire UN) wants him to mind his own biznas or they're going to take over his House. With Ethan stuck between a rock and a not-so-comfy place, it's Merit to the rescue, hitting the streets of Chi-town in search of raves, drug dealers, and her arch-nem, Celina. Unfortunately, Merit forgot to bring along the little grey cells, so things aren't going so well!

The first half of the book was pretty boring. Nothing happens and I think Merit spends like eighty pages driving around Chicago and talking on her cell phone--that's what it felt like, anyway. Also, there are very drawn-out scenes involving food, which don't seem to have a point. Then she goes to a rave and the plot starts picking up, but the sense making does not.

Here's the thing: there are a lot of convenient plot device (CPD) moments in this book, most of which involve the characters acting inconsistently. Merit's supposed to be really smart, and she has been in the previous books, but in this one she bumbles into offices with no plan, talks without thinking, doesn't listen to her instincts, and generally acts like a dope; and all of this inevitably contributes to the conclusion of the book. Merit's not the only one suffering from alien body syndrome, either: in Twice Bitten, she and Ethan slept together, but then he was like, "Office romance is bad news, babe," and she was all, "NEVER TOUCH ME AGAIN." In Hard Bitten, Ethan wants Merit back, I'm not sure why exactly; and in the interim he's somehow gone through a total personality makeover, where he's not a snobby prig and is actually... um, kinda nice. And sweet. *chokes* Even Merit thinks at some point, "Maybe people can change." Um. Maybe. But probably not people as old as Ethan is. And probably not that much. Did he take a Male Sensitivity in the 21st Century class or what?

Then there's Mayor Tate, who acts like a character straight out of a Spiderman comic; Morgan, who betrays Merit's trust for no clear reason; Celina, who is definitely out of character; Jonah, who conveniently develops the hots for Merit; Paulie, who is ridiculously forth-coming... need I go on?

Now, you all know I'm not a fan of Ethan (see this post, and this one, and also this one), so I'm not against Merit having another romantic interest (Team Morgan! The scene where he took his shirt of=priceless), but the ending of this book took me completely aback because there was absolutely zero set-up. There wasn't even foreshadowing! For four books I saw this series as heading in more or less a certain direction, but now I have no idea. And as a reader, I don't like feeling left out to sea with no idea where a story is going.

What Chloe Neill did at the end of this novel was very gutsy, and I commend her for that. But things like this require at least a little set-up, or your audience gets angry and stops trusting you as a story-teller. On the plus side, I still want to find out why things happened the way they did, and hopefully the next book, Drink Deep, will answer a few--or more than few--questions.

Musical notes: "Judas" by Lady Gaga

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Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Musical Notes: "You've Got the Love," Florence + the Machine



Review:

Mac is back. But who is she, really? Someone inherently evil, whose every action is destined to push the world closer to destruction? Or the innocent twenty-two year old who was a normal human--aside from her rabid fondness for pink--and whose parents always believed the best of her?


Shadowfever is the final book in the Fever series, and I'm more than pleased to announce it does not disappoint. I can't image Moning managing to pen a better conclusion. After the cliffhanger ending of Dreamfever, there were so many unanswered questions and loose plot threads that I honestly expected to not have all my questions answered--and yet, they were.

Seriously--every. Single. Question.

It starts off right where Dreamfever left off, on the cliff where Mac has just killed a beast. We find out almost immediately who the beast really is, and it's a non-stop ride from there. Despite being nearly 600 pages (and you all know my apathy for long books), the story felt like it was flying by. There are several major shockers, especially toward the end of the book, and things are wrapped up beautifully.



That's not to say everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow, just the major things that bugged me. Other things are left at the reader's own discretion to think about. For example, what was up with the tarot card Mac received? It foretells the end of the journey, where The Fool has made peace with herself and achieved immortality--but I know that because I looked it up, not because it's in the book.

There's also the "Dreamy-Eyed Guy," who's intrigued me since book one, and who has said several times, "Don't talk to it. Never talk to it." Mac assumes he means the dangerous Fae, but does he? I loved the way his story line was brought to the forefront and wrapped up.

And in fact, this is the book where Mac finally makes peace with herself. As she's been growing into her new role in Dublin, she's also been feeling separated from herself, as if there's two sides to her. And, as the quote on the back cover suggests, she's horribly afraid one of those sides is pure evil. If evil believes wrong is good, and there are bits of her inherently evil now, how she will ever know if the path she chooses is right?

As for Barrons, we finally learn what he is... well, kind of. But not specifically. Strangely, though, it doesn't matter so much because we learn who he is. Yes, he and Mac's bickering seemed to drag only to lengthen the sexual tension in the book, but who cares. They're entertaining when they bicker.

I honestly think this is the best book in the entire series and the perfect conclusion to it. It could have been edited down a bit, and Mac was really annoying at the beginning of the novel, but overall it was a compelling, non-stop read. One of those books you have to take a day off of work for, and that you can't stop thinking about after you put it down. When I got to the final page, I was sad to have to leave Mac and Barrons and Dublin behind.

I can't recommend the Fever series enough, or praise Moning enough for being a great writer. And I really want to thank TLC Booktours for sending me this novel to review!

The publisher is offering a book to giveaway! To enter, fill out the form below (if you're viewing this in a reader you may have to go to the actual post).

Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong

I have never read a Kelley Armstrong novel, so when Wunderkind Publishing asked me if I wanted a copy of this book to review, I had no idea it was the 11th in a series.  That's right--eleventh.  On the plus side, I didn't feel when I opened this book like I was dropping into the middle of a long-running series, and I was never lost as to the plot and characters.  But on the minus side, that was probably because Waking the Witch was pretty light on both.

Savannah has been working in a supernatural PI firm since she was sixteen, when two PIs named Lucas and Paige took her in.  Now they're on vacation and Savannah's determined to prove herself by solving her very first case, on her own.  She travels to a small depressed town where she suspects women are being killed using witchcraft.  There she becomes embroiled with various men.  The major players are:

Jesse--Young guy Savannah's age who is half-demon and also a PI.  He handed her the case to check out while he took care of something else.

Michael--Cute detective trying to solve his sister's murder.  And he drives a BMW, yet isn't a gearhead?!?  Wow, cops are making a lot these days.

Adam--Savannah's true love, who plays the role of Oblivious Male Friend.

There's also the hick inhabitants of the town (remember, kids, people who don't live in cities are uncultured, uneducated, and poor), such as Difficult and Lazy Sheriff, Old People in Diner, and Town Richie Rich Who Thinks He Can Do Whatever He Wants.

Notice anything?  That's right, none of the major characters except for Savannah are women.  There are several female characters--one child, and a slew of minor adult characters, the majority of whom are villainous in some way.  By the end, the book winds up feeling weirdly male-centric.  Even Savannah isn't much of a girl--she could be a male and the book would probably be the same.

In addition, there are several plot holes and inconsistencies of logic going on.  Just to give one example, at one point Savannah thinks, "As I got older, I dated less, and I'd thought I was just slowing down, getting ready for that big moment when Adam would notice me, but after I realized that wasn't happening, and I just kept slowing down."  First of all, that's a lot of commas.  Second of all, as I got older?  The girl is twenty-one!  I find it difficult to believe there's much of a dating arc going on there.

My main gripe with the book, though, it that it was just BLAH.  I didn't care about the women who got killed, who killed them, the characters in the town--anything, really.  I also felt zero spark between Savannah or any of the characters, except possibly the little girl.  Perhaps if I had read the ten books preceding this one I'd have more invested in the characters and would care more, but as it was I didn't get much out of it.

There are a lot of light, fun UF books out there (I'm assuming that's what this novel is aiming for) that are more entertaining and creative than this one (Twice Bitten, for instance).  However, if you're a fan of the series and the author, you'll undoubtedly want to pick this book up--I'm sure you'll enjoy it more than I did.

On that note... Wunderkind sent me an extra copy of Waking the Witch to give away!  Just leave a comment with a valid e-mail address and I will pick the winner randomly and mail them a copy.  Contest will close on Friday, August 6th, at 11 PM MST.

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Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill

I still hate Ethan.

In the third Chicagoland Vampires book, our heroine, Merit, spends most of her time exploring the world outside Cadogan vampire house--she's invited to join the Red Guard, which is kind of like the Praetorian Guard of the vampire world; and she is further drawn into the world of the shifters, who are meeting in Chicago to decide whether to face the coming war as allies of vampires, or retreat to their isolated base in Alaska. 

As for Merit's love life, with Morgan (sigh) out of the picture, you can guess who takes lusty center-stage: the master with the mostest, Ethan.  I'll let you read the book to find out what happens there.

Twice Bitten is better than its two predecessors in the series, Some Girls Bite and Friday Night Bites, which is saying a lot.  The story moves along very quickly and there aren't a lot of lulls in the action.  That being said, I did start to get bored in the middle--mainly because of stupid Ethan.  If I never have to read him whining about his responsibilities to Cadogan House blah blah blah again, I will be more than happy.  In the previous novels I found him annoying; now he's just boring.  Yawn.

In her review of this novel, Colette from A Buckeye Girl Reads reminded me that I asked Chloe Neill about Merit's fascination with the tale of Tristan and Isolde and whether it would have any bearing on the story.  At this point, I'm not sure how it could, unless there's a more interesting love interest waiting in the wings for Merit, or Morgan is still a possibility.  If you're not up on ye olde Arthurian tales, Tristan and Isolde is a tragic love story.  Isolde is betrothed to King Mark, who lives in a far away country.  The king asks his nephew, Tristan, to escort his fiance to his kingdom so that they can get married; on the way, the two youngsters fall in love.  Although Isolde still marries King Mark upon her arrival, she can't help her love for Tristan, and they continue their affair.  Inevitably the king finds out, however, and while he forgives Isolde, Tristan is banished from the kingdom.

Isolde shouldn't be confused with Iseult, whom Tristan marries after his banishment because he likes the similarity of her name with Isolde's.

So if the books at all mirror this legend, wouldn't you think Morgan is Tristan?  Because Ethan is definitely the king, and he did ask Morgan to "escort" Merit around before she moved into Cadogan House.

That's really all I have to say about Twice Bitten, other than wonder exactly how long this series is going to go on for.  If there's going to be a huge war between sups (supernaturals) and humans, and Merit is going to save the Apex's son, then that's a looooong stretch of time.  And while I do really and truly enjoy these books, ever since Anita Blake, I've been leery of long-running series.  I don't want to be borrowing these novels from my mom ten years from now and reading about how Merit's slept her way from Chicago up to Milwaukee, okay?  Let's keep the love interests to half a dozen at most.

Anyway.  You should read these books.  The end.

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Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

After finishing this book, the only thing I can say is... HOW IN THE NAME OF GOD AM I GOING TO SURVIVE UNTIL SHADOWFEVER COMES OUT IN DECEMBER????!?!?!?!1

Dreamfever is the fourth book in Karen Marie Moning's "Fever" series (that's not actually the series' name, it's just what I call it).  The books are really one whole story spread out across five novels, about a Southern girl name Mackayla Lane who travels to Dublin to search for her sister's killer.  In the process, she discovers that Irish legends about fairies are not only real, but much worse than the stories would have one believe.  It's only in this book that is becomes clear the Fever series isn't just an UF series, but a story of Apocalypse.

After Faefever, the previous novel in the series, I admit I was a little scared to read Dreamfever.  Faefever wasn't exactly my favorite book; and in addition, it ended on a pretty horrific note.  But after a bit of a rocky start, the story in Dreamfever settled in and started moving along.  A lot more things happen in this book than in the previous one, especially in regards to Barrons' and Mac's relationship, and there's also a lot more action in this novel.  Inspector Jayne rocks it out defending Dublin from the fae, V'lane has formed some interesting partnerships, and the Lord Master has some interesting revelations.  But the new major character in this book is Dani, another sidhe-seer who has become something of an adopted sister to Mac.

The overall story is okay--it's a quick read, although maybe not as un-put-downable as the earlier novels.  That is, until the end, which left me going, "Are you freaking KIDDING me?!?!?"  Literally, that's what I said at the end.  Let's just say it's a cliffhanger.

Dreamfever leaves us with a host of questions, such as:

• Didn't Mac say she was responsible for Jayne's death in book three?  When is that dude going to kick off?
• What is Barrons?
• What is Mac?
• Why did V'lane hiss at Mac when she tried to get him to let her into the Forbidden Libraries?
• What did the dreamy-eyed boy's reflection mean when he said, "Don't talk to it.... Never talk to it."
• What is Barrons?
• Who killed Alina if the LM didn't? (I'm voting for Rowena on this one.)
• Who's the woman with blonde hair that guards the Forbidden Libraries?
• Where is Christian?  Is he the fifth?
• What did the Sinsar Dubh do to Mac?  Anything?
• What is Barrons?

And many others I can't mention for fear of dreaded spoilerage. 

You know what all these questions remind me of?  Lost--endless questions and no answer in sight.  Hopefully the final book in this series will be better at providing answers than the Lost finale was!  Now I just have to dig deep for the patience to wait until December.

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Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

This is the third book in Moning's -Fever series.  Colette from A Buckeye Girl Reads likes to say that every series has that one book where you feel like the author is just killing time and nothing much happens--well, for me that was this book.

Basically everything of any significance that occurs in this book happens during the last 50-ish pages, so I can't really give you a summary.  Mac is still searching for the Sinsar Dubh and still fighting with V'lane, Barrons, the other sidhe-seers, and Inspector Jayne.

Mac's relationship with Barrons and V'lane develops more in this book, but at this point I'm thinking her and Barrons are never going to get together.  Seriously, those two have got way too many issues.  And V'lane is still pretty boring.

This novel wasn't really bad--it's just that not much happens during it.  The only character I really care about is Barrons, so when he's not in the book I get pretty impatient with it.  That was actually true in the other books, too, but in Faefever it was exacerbated by the opening line, "I'd die for him."  Naturally, I was hoping the him in this scenario was Barrons.

Mac, meanwhile, annoyed the crap out of me.  I find her distrust of Barrons unreasonable, and the way she tries to play everyone off one another is not only distasteful, but incompetent.  If you're going to be a manipulative bitch, at least know what the heck you're doing.  And don't even get me started on the jars of Unseelie.  Gross!  No wonder Barrons doesn't want to kiss that mouth.

That being said, there were parts like I liked--the MacHalo was hilarious, and Barrons' birthday scene was priceless.  But most of the book was watching MacKayla dig herself deeper and deeper into a hole.  And the ending was just depressing.

I am of course looking forward to book four. :)

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Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Find this book at an independent bookseller near you (via IndieBound).

This is the second book in Moning's "Fever" series.  In the first book, Darkfever, MacKayla Lane came to Dublin to search for her sister's murderer, only to discover that all the things that go bump in the night actually exist--and are very dangerous.  In the second book, MacKayla gets into more trouble (predictably), more mysteries arise, and very few are solved, setting up everything perfectly for book three.

Now that I've thought about Bloodfever a bit, I've realized that not much really happens to affect the overall plot of the series during the course of this book.  Yet it feels very exciting and is a quick, compelling read.

While reading the first book, I found Mac to be a little annoying and overly angsty.  She still has that problem in this novel, but it's to a lesser extent.  Mac is becoming a darker, more dangerous person, and the limits to what she will and won't do are becoming severely blurred.  She's turning into Barrons, basically, which is actually quite funny and makes me wonder if she's rubbing off on Barrons the same way he's rubbing off on her.  Will we be seeing pink in his wardrobe selection in the future? (Please say yes!)

Although Barrons isn't in this novel any more than the first one, it feels like he has a much larger presence in Mac's life, even though she's much more able to take care of herself.  Of which I can only approve.  I don't know why or how, but at some point in this book I completely fell in love with Barrons.

The ending was seriously disgusting and made me want to throw up, but other than that this was a great, thoroughly enjoyable book.  I think it would be safe to say this one's an improvement over Darkfever, and I can only hope the Fever books keep getting better.

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Chicagoland Vampire Series by Chloe Neill

Find these books at an independent bookseller near you (via IndieBound).

This is a great, fun new UF series with a lot of wit, humor, action, and romance.

Merit is a grad student in Chicago studying romantic literature like Tristan and Isolde, when her life is completely changed by a random attack on campus.  Instead of letting her die, Ethan, the leader of Cadogan House, changes her into a vampire without asking her permission.  Suddenly Merit has new powers, new responsibilities, and is forced to abandon the life she chose to make something out of one that she didn't.

I read both these books with Colette from A Buckeye Girl Reads as part of our bookclub, Romance Readers Anonymous.  I really enjoyed both books--the second more than the first, actually--but it's difficult to explain why.  They aren't perfectly plotted, but they do have something that makes them alchemically enjoyable.

The first book starts off fairly slowly, as Merit is being stubborn in accepting the fact that she's been changed into a vampire.  She wants desperately to hang onto the remnants of her old life, including her roommate, Mallory.  Unfortunately, she finds out even the people she holds dear and beloved at not what they seem.

Then she suddenly has a moment with Ethan, and the book really picks up from that point.  There's also Morgan, a vampire who's part of Navarre House.  I'm not going to go into these two guys a lot, because I feel like I've already beaten the point to death, but let's just say I am Team Morgan all the way.

Anyway, the real appeal of these books in Merit's relationship with Morgan and, I admit, Ethan.  Every book has a mystery (which I won't go into for fear of spoilage), but that seems to be kind of incidental.  In the second, I saw most of the plot twists coming a mile off--yet I didn't really care because I was enjoying reading about Merit and the other characters so much.

Another appeal is Merit, who is bookish and geeky (yet another protagonist who reads) and romantic; but suddenly finds herself with amazing athletic abilities and attracted to Ethan, who is definitely not the most romantic guy on the planet.  To say the least.  Merit doesn't truly know herself now that she's a vampire, and that makes for some very interesting reading and problems for our heroine.

I really like these books and I can't wait for the next book to come out.  I definitely think Chloe Neill has created a great series.

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Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning*

A few months ago on Twitter, I joked that these books are like crack--without ever having read them. Now that I have bitten the bullet and tried them out, I can definitely say that they ARE like crack, and everyone should try them out.

MacKayla Lane is a twenty-two year-old who doesn't have much to worry about beyond what music to listen to, what shade to color her toenails, and which college course she should sign up for next semester. Then her sister, studying abroad in Dublin, is murdered. Mac is determined to force the Dublin police to reopen the case, so she journeys to Ireland, where she discovers all the legends about Irish fairies are true, and then some.

This is a very well-crafted, well-told story. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how the author uses foreshadowing, which is kind of a lost art form, in my opinion. Not that the foreshadowing is subtle or artful at all, but it is very effective at keeping the reader engaged with the story and guessing what's going to happen next.

Since the novel is told entirely from Mac's perspective, the main character is key to one's whole enjoyment of the book. Personally, I'm torn when it comes to Mac--I found her at turns to be very likable and refreshing, and then at other times she was just plain annoying. For an urban fantasy novel (which is what I would definitely classify this book as), she's certainly atypical. Mac is very girly, with a love for fashion (supposedly she's a reader--OF COURSE--but the only thing we catch her reading are fashion magazines), and no desire to get messy or kick anyone's ass. She's an anti-hero, basically, but with a fun twist. During the course of Darkfever--and, I'm assuming, the rest of the series--she gains wisdom and seriousness of purpose and all that good stuff. Unfortunately, I thought that process in Darkfever felt forced. Maybe it was just the fact that she whined and angsted over things way too much for way too long, but I just found it annoying and a bit nonsensical.

Before you start to worry, no, I am not going to conclude this review without talking about Barrons. Barrons is the mysterious and fabulously wealthy owner of Barrons' Books and Baubles, who teaches Mac everything she knows about the Fae. Although I do like his character, at this point I'm having trouble seeing his potential love interest-nish. Not to mention V'lane, the Fae prince, who is just gross at this point. Even without a lot of romance, though, this book still sucked me in and keep me involved in the story, which is really saying something.

Overall, this a great, refreshing twist on the UF genre. I can't wait to get the other books so I can find out what happens next!


Other Opinions:
A Buckeyegirl Reads
Monkey Bear Reviews
Stacy's Place on Earth
This is me....


*This is an Amazon Associates link. If you buy this item after clinking on the link, Santa will give me coal at Christmas. Or is it that he won't give me coal? Have to think about that one.

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Angel's Blood

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

This urban fantasy/romance is a cornucopia of popular supernatural creatures, with vampires, vampire hunters, angels, and even zombies--yes, my friends, zombies! It does a good job of setting up a new series, although I can't say entirely liked it. Or rather, I liked a part of it and hated another part.

Elena is a vampire hunter extraordinaire. She and her colleagues chase down runaway vampires for angels, who Make vampires in return for 100 years of servitude. When vamps try to jump their parole, Elena tracks them, tags 'em, and carts them back to the hoosegow, much like a female version of Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Then the Archangel of New York City, Raphael, requests her services. He wants Elena to lead him to another archangel, Uram, who's gone a wee bit on the wrong side of bat-shit insane. Despite the ginormous amount of money he's paying her, Elena isn't really happy about this because 1. archangels are scary; and 2. she's certain either Raphael or Uram will kill her before the job's over. But you can't say no to the Godfather Archangel, especially when he's all sexy-like.

The beginning of Angels' Blood kind of pissed me off. Admittedly, Hush, Hush used up all of the little patience I have for the jerk-angel-and-the-woman-who-is-inexplicably-attracted-to-him trope; but even more annoying was Elena denying she was attracted to Raphael, even though it was obvious that she was. (Note to rom heroines: just because you're attracted to someone does not mean you have to bang them. I'm just throwing that idea out there.) One of the reasons why I hate that sort of thing in romance novels is that reinforces the idea that when women say no--which Elena did plenty of in the first half of this book--they really mean yes--which she really did. And that is bull.

Around the halfway-point, both stalker Raphael and trigger-happy Elena (seriously, I don't think this woman should be issued firearms) reallllly started to annoy me. However, at that point in the book the relationship shifted to become more equal, and I began to enjoy it a lot more. Of course, Raphael has no personality, and I have no idea why he's even attracted to Elena beyond the point that she's fiesty, but at least he was no longer a total douche. Plus, the hunt for Uram FINALLY got underway (yes, halfway through the book), so the story became much more exciting.

In fact, Angels' Blood improved exponentially in the second half, to the point that I actually truly liked it by the end. I think it does a great job of setting up the next book in the series, which I'm definitely looking forward to reading. So although I had plenty of problems with it, it did end up being a satisfying book.

And now for the twenty-dollar question:

<----Actual picture of Uram?

Angels--iz they the new vampires?

I'm going have to go with a draw on this one.

On one hand:

• The angels in this book have wings. That's always a plus--pretty wings, too.
• These angels have some pretty cool powers. My favorite was angel dust. If you try it, you'll like it. They can also create zombies and vampires, throw fireballs, and manipulate human minds.

On the other hand:

• I'm still not entirely clear on how the angel world works in this book. They're the rulers of the earth, okay--but how exactly do they rule? Is it governmental, do they own a bunch of real estate, what? There were definitely some gaps in the world building.
  
• For most of the book, the angels didn't seem angelic to me. They're just basically vampires with wings. As I kept reading, I got more used to it, but one expects angels to be counterpoints to vampires and not really one-and-the-same. Plus, if they're mostly cool because they're like vampires, have angels really replaced vamps as the new supernatural creature of the moment? No, not really.
  

Final score: vampires, 2 1/2; angels 1 1/2

Which means vampires win!!!!!! Yeah!



Other opinions:

Literary Escapism
Loves Vampires
Angieville
Babbling About Books, and More
Dear Author
Musings of a Bibliophile
Royal Reviews
The Book Smugglers
Tracy’s Place
Urban Fantasy Land
Scooper Speaks
Lurv A La Mode
Stacy's Place On Earth
Did I miss yours? Please let me know in the comments!

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