Black Lament by Christina Henry

Inevitable spoilers for books 1-3 ahead, go away if you wish to read those with some element of surprise.

photo via author website

As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black deals with loss every day. But when tragedy touches her own life, Maddy will have to find the strength within to carry on… 

Devastated and grieving, Maddy unexpectedly finds hope with the discovery that she is pregnant. But Maddy’s joy is short lived when Lucifer informs her that he wants the baby, hoping to draw on the combined power of two of his bloodlines. Maddy is determined that her grandfather will never have her child, but she’s not sure what she can do to stop him. 

Being pregnant is stressful enough, but Maddy suddenly finds herself at odds with the Agency—forbidden from meddling in the affairs of the supernatural courts. When a few of her soul collections go awry, Maddy begins to suspect that the Agency wants to terminate her employment. They should know by now that she isn’t the sort to give up without a fight…

synopsis via Goodreads

So, like, all of the books are fun, with plenty of action and occasional hilarity. But they aren't really very deep, both in content matter and in characterization (which is totally fine, I like fluffy books). This book feels particularly shallow because Maddy's husband was murdered but her grief never feels authentic (not that there is a right way and a wrong way to grieve or feel grief IRL but this is fiction, the rules, they be different). It's been only a couple of weeks since Gabriel died and she's just found out she's pregnant and her sadness feels like so much lip service.  "I am sad" is really not a sufficient portrayal of sadness. Realistically though, emotional depth has never been the strength of this series. The romantical aspect was definitely under-fed in the previous books so it makes a sort-of weird sense that the other emotional aspects have been neglected here? At least it's consistent.

As a whole, it's written competently and is paced well (the pace, btw, is FAST). The end wraps up a little bit too quickly, but it's neither super-predictable nor zany-out-there.The dudely love interests (for lack of a better term) sound pretty foxy and even though we get a Sassy Best Friend, Beezle (Maddy's pet/best friend/gargoyle) is neither red-haired nor human and manages to evade being quite a cliché. The weird pregnancy-detecting fallen angel skillz were pretty creepy and hitting on a pregnant lady whose husband has just died is in pretty bad taste, but over-all another solid entry into the Black Wings series.

Read this if you like very fluffy Urban Fantasy that's heavy on witty dialogue and light on emotional investment.

Black Lament by Christina Henry
Series: Black Wings
Previous book: Black Howl  Next book: Black City (forthcoming Feb-2013)
P.O.V. Third person
Language: Mostly clean, maybe a couple of f-bombs? I don't exactly recall
Sexxxoring: There was a super-vague dream-thing but otherwise ZERO
Where from? Borrowed from das Library

Judy Blume - Summer Sisters

CALIBRE IS GREAT, THEY SAID.
SURELY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN STARING AT THAT SCREEN FOR LIKE AN HOUR, THEY SAID.
NO IT WILL NEVER MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S 1998, THEY SAID.
WHY ARE YOU CRYING ON THE FLOOR, THEY SAID.

------

So I'm dealing with this; this Calibre thing that Jae totally understands/loves/might as well just marry and I just keep looking at it dubiously, like who are you and why can't I make categories on you, why are you genuinely consuming my entire night just loading my shit, and don't even think about turning this around and making it about the actual volume of shit I have so shut up seriously.

While that's happening, I will tell you about a book I read. I do this never, on my shared book blog, so obviously this is important.

Judy Blume - Summer Sisters

I guess I'm super late to the party on this one -  it was published in the halcyon days of 2003. This probably would have changed my life had I read it in 2003, but reading it in 2012 was more "nice evening in, please hold the sonnets decreeing it's greatness." It's a lovely book, but I'm pretty sure Judy Blume's life-changing capabilities fade entirely after your 23rd birthday or something. It's in your DNA, like those weird cell phone noises that only children can hear. Some things, you just age out of.

Regardless, I was feeling nostalgic and starting plowing through a boatload of JB's catalog (Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself was always my favorite, I know, who am I, what have I done with general consensus, but oh my god those letters to !!!Hitler In Disguise!!! fucking kill me) and this was thrown in the mix because I almost never remember the titles of books I've read. I assumed I had read it, with the rest. I had not. And it's pretty damn amazing.

It's one of her adult novels (not adult like porn, adult like probably don't give this to your 8 year old). It's about these BFFs (kind of? like not my definition of BFF but clearly someone's?), and their lives basically from age 12 through eternity. Whatever, here's the summary, I'm terrible at this:

In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changed forever—when Caitlin Somers chose her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomed Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, a magical, wind-blown island where two friends became summer sisters. . . .

Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin has begged Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—for the friend whose casual betrayals she remembers all too well. Because Vix wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart....

Why do all summaries end with an ellipsis? I mean, I guess I know technically why, but it's still irritating as all fuck.

And this kind of sounds awful! Don't listen to the saccharine synopsis. There is some deep shit buried in this book. And scissoring! Honestly! THERE IS SCISSORING, OK.

Blume is basically the master of relateable adolescent girl stories. It's why she's such a hit with the YA set -- it's like someone sucked the awkward insanity out of a 12 year old's head and made sense of it in a way that understandable, hilarious, absurd, and sad. This book has SO MUCH of all of those things. You will laugh, you will cry, etc. The relationship between Vix and Caitlin is so tragic and awful, and I feel like most ladies have had at some point a friendship that was just that intense and inevitably doomed for it.

FOR THE RECORD: Minus the scissoring. I get that it's a thing and surely happens amongst pre-teen/who the fuck am I/what is sex/etc girls, but also does NOT happen with the same frequency, and let's just take a moment to recognize that there are all kinds and all of them are fine. THAT SAID: some of these paragraphs made me keenly uncomfortable in a way that has probably everything to do with my own hang-ups, but come on, I am basically reading a sex scene between 12 year old girls and that is weird, there I said it.

Read this book! Totally read it. It will take you like 4 hours, not even. And your library has it. Right now. There are characters named Bru, Von, and Lamb (for gods sake) which are all genuinely stupid and I didn't even care, that's how much I enjoyed this book. So read it, and then we can talk about the The Power, which is such a bizarre concept that I can't even tell you about it.

Hey, guess what! Calibre's done. I'm going to go pretend like I know what the fuck I'm doing.

The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow

I just glommed the Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow a couple of weeks ago. Since I mostly liked it, I went ahead and bought this book and also the Jill Kismet series which just happens to be available on Kindle for $9.99 if you pre-order it (yes, all five books).

Demons are preying on schoolchildren in her city, so Francesca Barnes does what any red-blooded librarian would do-she does some research and goes hunting. But the books she finds in a secret cache don't tell her the whole story. Chess has no idea what she's just stepped into or just how special she is. Orion is Drakul, part demon, and a loyal servant of the Order. He doesn't expect a motorcycle-riding librarian to be messing around with demonic forces, and he doesn't expect her to smell so damn good. But Ryan's got bigger problems. His partner has disappeared, and the forces of Darkness are rising. Now Chess is Ryan's only hope of finding his partner, and Ryan is Chess's only hope of survival because the demons now know Chess exists and that she is the heir to a long-lost power that could push back their dark tide. If Ryan can keep her alive long enough, she just might be the key to destroying the demons completely. But Ryan doesn't know he's been betrayed by the very Order he serves. And if Chess does, by some miracle survive, he won't ever be able to touch her again. . .

(synopsis via Goodreads)

So! Librarians, secret books, demon hunters, mysterious order protecting us poor little humans, a little romance, everything about this story sounds awesome, right? Well, not quite. It’s good but never quite makes the leap into amazing. Chess is a likeable protagonist, she’s smart (a librarian!), she’s feisty (but not that absurd-feisty that too many UF lady-protagonists tends towards), she’s pretty brave, she’s independent. Although sometimes she’s a little too independent for someone who’s only killed one demon and who now has a certified demon-hunter at her beck and call.

Ryan sounds super foxy and he’s definitely a good guy to have in your corner, what with the super strength and healing abilities, but I am not a fan of the mate-instinct that we got to deal with when Ryan’s POV was at the forefront.  I got a little tired of the but she’s so pretty and she smells so nice! This must be Twue Wuv! Also, things could be a little scary from his perspective because he was fighting his instincts (read: major boner) all the time.  And he goes from “You give me a boner” to “I love you forever” really damn quickly.

On the other hand, the romance was almost totally undeveloped on Chess’ side, because she spent most of the book going “Fuck, demons! This is scary, run, no, fight, wait, I have a knife!” and passing out and only very occasionally “That Ryan guy is a little scary, but he’s kinda good looking”.  

There isn’t much in the way of world-building since it’s basically just real world + demons but there’s enough to make it convincing. It’s a bit of a shame because Lilith Saintcrow is a master world-builder (seriously, the world-building aspect of her Dante Valentine series is mind-blowing).  

Final Reckoning

Read this? Sure, why not. It’s entertaining and over quickly.  I realize that isn’t quite a ringing endorsement but I would have liked it better if there were a couple of follow-ups (or even just one) because the epilogue was kind of ridiculous. It reads like a first entry in a series, right up until the epilogue, where things get wrapped way too neatly, but it’s a stand-alone.  It’s kind of hard to categorize too, since it’s PNR from Ryan’s POV and UF from Chess’ POV.  It was at least worth the 7 bucks I paid.

The Demon’s Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow

Series: n/a

P.O.V: Third person, past;  alternating perspective

Language: Mostly clean with a few dingers

Sexxxoring: Zero action, lots of (mental) talk

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

So! It's been a while since I've posted. Sorry about that. I've been too busy reading to write anything. Plus, January was a weird month, reading-wise. Everything seemed to be either super awesome or buh-oring with very little in between. I managed to finish every book I started (with one exception) but a few books took me weeks to finish because I just couldn't concentrate on them.

When She Woke is based on The Scarlet Letter. It's set in a Big Brother-ish* future, one that seems more than possible (way more possible than I am comfortable with), where democracy and theocracy in the US have twined together, setting the tenets of one religion over all others (which religion? You get three guesses and two of them don't count). In this future, abortion is now out-and-out illegal (not just more and more difficult to access) and instead of housing convicts in expensive prisons,  a process called melachroming changes a person's skin color based on their crime and then the person is set free (sort-of, it's more complicated than that, but words, there are too many). The narrator, Hannah Payne, after having been tried and convicted of "fetal murder", is sentenced to 10 years as a Red. The father of her almost-baby is a high muckity-muck in her church and Hannah has refused to name him, a decision that added years to her sentence.

Hannah was raised in an evangelical Christian household and the challenges to her faith comprised a great deal of the story. Her recollections of her life show that things happen to her as opposed to her making her own choices. Even though  she was a naturally inquisitive child and asked a lot of questions that were difficult to answer without an "Because god said so", she managed to convince herself that her affair with the married minister happened because...Jesus. Seems weird, but I can understand that it's easy to justify doing what you want if the decision never in your hands. It was mostly satisfying to see her become more self-sufficient and aware of her own motivations and beliefs but the story takes place over a pretty short period of time and she doesn't quite get where I want her to be.

The story is about more than Hannah though, it's a commentary about prejudice. Chromes are subject to wide-spread hatred; violence against a Chrome is nearly always ignored, both by regular citizens and by law enforcement. The women especially are prone to sexual violence. It's difficult to get a job, find housing, even use a public restroom if your skin is Red, Green, Yellow, or Blue. And while it would have been easy for the author to make racial prejudice disappear, there is an effort to confront that. There is also an effort to address Queer issues, but I don't think it was handled well. It felt more like "Inclusivity, we got it!" than anything else.

*Convicts are subject to a 30-day prison stay, during which all of their activities are nationally broadcast. I'll admit I don't quite understand how this voyeurism fits into the story, unless it's to drive home that Chromes aren't really considered people and have no real rights. 


Final Reckoning

Should you read this? Yes, overall, I think this was a pretty good book. Until the last quarter or so, where it takes a bizarre turn that detracted from the strength of the story. I would like to recommend it unreservedly but the ending made me glad I got it from the library.

Buy It . Borrow It . Skip It

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Series: n/a
P.O.V.: First person, past; single narrator
Language: Fairly clean

It's more Speculative Fiction than Fantasy, but I don't feel like starting a new tag

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door is a companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss. I got AatFK last year when Amazon promoted it for free on Kindle and loved the hell out of it. But I have a serious weakness for YA lit. So when LatBND came in from the library I just about squealed.

Blurb from author's website because the review is a little long-winded:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket - a gifted inventor - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Lola's adopted and I love that her family is not a traditional mom-dad-kid family. Her dads aren't written as stereotypical gay men, voguing and shrieking FABULOUS at the top of their lungs (if that's you, that's awesome, but it's not everybody). They have a loving, stable relationship and they are very (very) protective of Lola. They aren't presented as Other but just as a regular family, like it's nothing remarkable (because it shouldn't be treated as if it were). Realistic portrayals of non-traditional family units are important.

I also love that Lola is in  charge of her own sexuality/desire*. She's having sex with her boyfriend and although she doesn't love sex yet, she's confident it will be pretty awesome with practice (because she's researched it, FTW!). It's refreshing to see depictions of teen sex (the sex itself is off-page) that are neither glamorizing nor demonizing nor shaming. Lola is having the sex and her best friend isn't but neither one is judging the other. Also, Cricket is inexperienced and no one judges him about that either. The one thing that I would have liked to see addressed was protection, both for STI's and pregnancy. It is never referred to by anyone in the book and Lola never thinks about it, which I find both weird and a little off-putting (especially considering her family history; if you read the book you'll know what I mean). I think the reader is meant to assume that at least condoms are being used, but in a book for/about teens, it's an important topic to S-P-E-L-L O-U-T. (For what it's worth, I don't like to read adult romances, especially contemporaries, where safe-sex practices aren't at least being discussed by the people sexing it up. It's irresponsible not to include that stuff in the story.)

Despite all of that goodness, I didn't always love Lola (I did seriously lust after her clothes though). She's sometimes selfish and immature but since she's 17 and she does grow up a bit as the book progresses, it's cool. I'd rather a protagonist with some flaws than a Mary Sue. Overall, I think the writing and the story itself and Cricket, because if I were still teen-aged, swoon, were enough to overcome my occasional objections. But if I'm going to be perfectly honest, I may be judging a little harshly because Cricket sounds so great.
As a whole, this book covers a lot of difficult topics that tend to make adults scream "Won't someone think of the children!?!?" like infidelity, teen sex, some drug use, homosexuality, etc., etc., but for the most part I think it does a pretty good job of being honest and forthright without being preachy (unlike this review). And it also doesn't overwhelm with the Very Important Subjects.

Should you read this? Yep, you should. Especially if you like romantic YA. Also read Anna and the French Kiss. 

Buy It . Borrow It . Skip It

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Series: Unnamed trilogy
Previous book in series: Anna and the French Kiss
Next book in series: Isla and the Happily Ever After (forthcoming)
P.O.V.: First person, present; single narrator
Language: Pretty clean with a couple of dingers
Sexxxoring: Off page


*ETA: Regarding sexual agency, the way I framed that makes it sound as though Lola's sexual agency is entirely to do with her having the sex. This is not true. Her friend who is not having the sex is also expressing her own agency; she is not sexing it up because she has shit to do (i.e. college, etc.) and wants to concentrate all of her energy on that. There isn't really a lot a background related to her first experience (the fact that her BF is 22 to her 16/17 is worthy of squick and grossed me out a bit) but the tone of the whole book makes it seem that she is having the sex because she wants to. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

So apparently, November is read-an-amazing-book month. I had just finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone (I give it a bajillion stars, if you were asking) and I was perfectly astonished to have the next book I read be just as amazing (in an altogether different way).

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

I know The Night Circus has been hyped unbelievably but I have to say that I loved, really loved this book. Everything about it appealed to me: the magic, the romance, the whimsy and fantasy, and the utter bizarreness of it. It's definitely not a plot-driven story; I knew how the contest would end (in a general sense, although the specifics were fun) and it's not really character-driven either. It's the prose and imagery that really impel the whole thing. The imagery is seriously incredible (an aside: I am terrible at actually imagining imagery, right? But I felt like I was seeing everything. Or like I was remembering a place I had visited. This is a pretty cool thing for me because it happens so rarely). 

I usually enjoy when a story is told in a nonlinear fashion but here I felt like the timeline jumped around too much? Because even though each event is happening years apart, the way the story flowed just felt linear. Having to keep in mind that this one thing happened four years before this other thing but only two years after this new thing was a little jarring. I kept having to refer to the chronology at the beginning of each chapter and it broke up the experience for me. But really, this was my only complaint. 

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? Yes, go buy it now. This is another book that you should own physically  because it's just really beautiful.

Buy It . Borrow It . Skip It

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Series: n/a
P.O.V.: Alternating 2nd person, present/3rd person, present
Language: Mostly clean with a couple of dingers

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This isn't a real review. I'm going to post the synopsis, squee a bunch and then faint. I'm not lying about the fainting.

This is a really difficult story to summarize. If you reveal too much, it ruins the suspense and the blurb doesn't really do it justice. But blurb is what you get because I am lazy.

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. 

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

You're thinking "Angels, bah, BORING", right? WRONG. I mean, yeah sure angels, whatever, but not like JESUS angels, more like alien species angels. So, give it a chance, ok? OK?

I've read Laini Taylor's other books and loved them (I am super pissed that Putnam has elected to not continue with the rest of the Dreamdark series; screw you, Putnam). But this book blew them all out of the water. It's romantic, mysterious, magical, melancholy, surprising, insert-complimentary-adjective-here. Every time I thought I had a handle on the story, it went all twisty. And even when I figured out the who, the why and how of it surprised me. Also, the writing itself is beautiful.

Generally, I finish one book and IMMEDIATELY start a new one, but here I had to give myself a short break so I could let the story settle in my brain. I know I'm gushing so I'll allow that I do have a couple of complaints; the third-person narration is mainly focused on Karou and Akiva but occasionally jumps to minor characters. But not consistently, so when it happens, it takes a second or two to adjust (by which point we have switched back to Karou or Akiva). Also, the pacing in the first two-thirds of the book is really spot on but drags a bit in the last third. The big reveal was wonderful and interesting, but I think the flow of the story suffered because it took so forking long.

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? YES, a million times, YES. Buy the hardcover, this is one of those books that needs to be read on paper. I borrowed my copy from the library, but I'm going to buy one this weekend (it's Support A Small Business Saturday!). I may actually buy both the digital and physical versions, just so I can have it with me always. The only other book I've done that with is Daughter of the Forest. You should go read that too.

Buy It . Borrow It. Skip It

It's the first book in a trilogy which I'm assuming will be named "Daughter of Smoke and Bone". I have no real idea, the author's website doesn't actually say much.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Book 1 of 3 (projected)
Next Book: Who knows? It's not mentioned anywhere on the author's site
P.O.V.: Third person, past; omniscient

Girl From Mars by Julie Cohen

PLEASE NOTE MOST AMAZING COVER EVER

Okay, I made myself wait a few days to post this review so I could get over my squeeing and maybe write something that approaches objectivity. This was a mostly successful endeavor. Anyway, blue-haired socially awkward geek girl, comic books, romance, Star Trek? In the same book? It's like it was written just for me. And really, I must stress that the cover is one of the coolest covers I've ever seen. The only thing that could make it better is tentacles.

I'm grabbing the blurb from Amazon because I am feeling too lazy to sum this up myself. It's not wholly accurate but it's good enough.

"I, Philomena Desdemona Brown, do solemnly swear to forsake all romantic relationships . . ." It's not like the vow, made by Fil and her three nerdy male best friends, seemed much of a big deal at the time. Frankly, Fil wouldn't know romance if it hit her in the face, and with her real love being her artist job at Girl from Mars, the comic whose heroine has never had a love interest, she doesn't exactly mind being relationship-free anyway. Until her world is rocked to its core when one of her long-standing quartet and Girl from Mars herself both unexpectedly fall in love. Is it time to give in to temptation and finally fall in love?

I may be a bit biased because it was basically like reading about myself, except I'm not white, English, or an artist. And the blue hair, not since I was twenty. But the socially inept geeky girl bit? ABSOLUTELY. 

The tone of the whole story is mostly wistful, because Fil doesn't want to be alone but she is fighting her attraction to her nemesis (she didn't know he was her nemesis until way after they met). The writing style is really simple and lovely, no flowery nonsense. And the dialogue is great.

I would have liked to see more growth from Fil as a character because she was definitely lacking in the self-awareness department and had a bad case of pretend-it-doesn't-exist-itis, but she did eventually grow up/out a bit. Also, even though Dan (our nemesis/love interest) sounds awesomely hot and nice, he was a bit flat. A lot of the Fil/Dan interaction took place off-page and it left me a little doubtful of the romance. But maybe that's because everything is from Fil's POV and she doesn't really get it either. I don't care, I still love this book.

Final Reckoning

Read this: Yes, you should. As a matter of fact, I'm going to take my own advice and read it again tonight.

Buy It . Borrow It . Skip It

Girl From Mars by Julie Cohen
Series: n/a
P.O.V.: First person, past; single narrator
Language: I am pretty sure it was clean but honestly, my memory can't be trusted
Sexxxoring: Maybe two or three scenes with super vague naked business

Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay

I bought this because the Kindle version was being offered on promo (still is, as of today) and the story is  set in a world with murderous mutant fairies. I figure this was an excellent use of four bucks.


Encapsulate This


When fairies turned out to be real and  and also hungry for human blood, Annabelle Lee turned to alcohol to smooth her way through the horrors. She lives in rural Louisiana collecting specimens for the FCC (Fairy Containment and Control) because she's one of the few who are immune to fairy venom (it turns you bonkers, sick or dead, or all three, in that order). She also assists the local police department when they need to recover evidence in fairy infested areas. When Annabelle helps the cops find the body of a young girl with no marks of fairy contamination, all signs point to murder. And then the rest of her life explodes: her sexy-cop boyfriend wants to get serious, her ex-boyfriend-turned-FBI-agent comes to town to investigate the murder, and her closest friends are suspects. All Annabelle wants is a drink. Or five.


Ruminate on That


Annabelle is pretty much a fuck-up. She's a (barely) functioning alcoholic, she's a bit of a coward, she's terrible at personal relationships, and she's practically a professional procrastinator (hello alliteration, how are you?).  She's unlikable. REALLY unlikable. But, perhaps perversely, I like that. I was definitely annoyed by her perpetual ignore-it-till-it-goes-away attitude and she made a number of really ridiculous choices, but by the end of the book, I could see that she was growing up. And that's a gratifying journey to watch/read. 


The story-universe is pretty much our universe but with bloodsucking fairies and magic. There isn't really a need for a lot of world-building, but some would have been nice. How did the fairies mutate? That is a major question that was left hanging. Maybe it'll be picked up as the series progresses.  Otherwise, the writing is pretty solid and Annabelle has a distinctive headvoice that is fun/funny. The wrap-up was a bit rushed and tied things up a little too neatly but I am definitely looking forward to the next book. 


Final Reckoning


Read This?  Yes, especially if you are looking for a departure from the usual vampire/shifter urban fantasies. 

Buy It . Borrow It . Skip It

Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay
Series: Annabelle Lee, Book 1
Next Book in Series: Blood on the Bayou, forthcoming 2012
P.O.V.: First person, present; single narrator
Language: Salty

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley (Check out those abs!)

So I mentioned in my August reading list that Jennifer Ashley writes really hot, emotional, beautiful romances. This is very, very true. A lot of what I like about the Mackensie series is that none of the ladies are virginal ingénues (at least at the point that we are introduced to them). Beth, Isabella, and Ainsley all have real sexual agency and that is both refreshing and rare in a historical romance. In many of the romance novels I’ve read, the sexually experienced women tend to be portrayed as man-eaters or evil bitchez who would sell their mamas for a dollar.  Also, the dudes, while very typical romance-dudes on the surface (unrepentant rake, profligate wastrel, general douche-canoe), have very real personalities and motivations.

Encapsulate This

When Ainsley Douglas, a lady-in-waiting for Queen Victoria, is caught sneaking around Lord Cameron Mackensie’s bedchamber (again) by none other than Lord Cameron himself, he decides to use the situation to seduce her (sort-of again). While Ainsley was only looking to recover some potentially embarrassing letters that have been stolen from the Queen, she knows that after their first meeting six years ago (wherein she was first caught sneaking around his room) she is dangerously susceptible to his wiles. And no matter how much she wants to succumb, she can’t afford to risk a scandal. Cameron is willing to lure her but he may end up caught in his own trap… (I don’t know how cover copy writers do this, it is so annoying)

Ruminate on That

So, the writing is lovely, the characters are sympathetic, the romance itself is (mostly) believable, and the sexy bits are steamy (Lord Cameron and his lady like the dirty talk). But what is best about this novel is the characterization of the main protagonists. Both Cameron and Ainsley have had some traumatic events in their lives that give them real emotional depth. Even though I thought Cameron was being weird with his “You are the only good thing ever, in the history of everything” attitude towards Ainsley (before they really came to know each other), the story just felt emotionally authentic.

What made TMSoLC intellectually interesting is a common theme turned sideways. While many authors have made use of the distressed damsel, this time it’s the dude who was the victim of domestic abuse and the wife who was the tormentor. I’m not fond of violence as a catalyst in a story, but I think that Jennifer Ashley managed to cover DV and what is essentially PTSD with real sensitivity. (The three Mackensie books to date feature Asperger’s, alcoholism, and domestic violence and the subjects are treated seriously and not sensationally.) 

The story isn’t perfect, there are a few sub-plots that distract from the romance and emotional connection, and the story wrapped a little too neatly. I also think that the portrayal of the first lady Cameron was heavy-handed. She was described as promiscuous, psychotic, violent, and then seemed to be suffering from post-partum depression. I would have liked a more nuanced view of her character because, but since it was the Cameron/Ainsley show I guess it made sense not to spend a lot of page space on tertiary characters.

Final Reckoning

Read this, yes, but even the happy bits are a little heavy. If you prefer light and fluffy romances, go read a Julia Quinn book.

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron, Highland Pleasures, Book 3

[Book 1: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackensie]

[Book 2: Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage]

Emergence by David R. Palmer

I love that a book published when I was one year old is both still available at the library and is also still awesome. It’s written almost entirely in shorthand (not the squiggles-and-dots kind, just the culling-of-extraneous-words kind) which I admit, would have put me off if I had know about it prior to borrowing, but it was surprisingly easy to adjust to.

Encapsulate This

Unspecified future date, USA, blah blah blah. Candidia Smith-Foster (otherwise known as Candy, I seriously had to look up candida because, gross, who would name their kid that? I was relieved to discover I had the word wrong) is a survivor of a bio-nuclear war. She’s mentally and physically precocious (certifiable genius and at least 5^th degree black belt in karate), supremely motivated and focused and is also only eleven years old. She sets off across the country to find other survivors and discovers more than just people.

Ruminate on That

I said that this is written is shorthand (also in first person) and that was weird for like 6 minutes. Then I got over it. Sometimes Candy comes off just a little too precious, but she is an occasionally funny, mightily observant, pragmatic, and over-all sympathetic narrator.  She definitely makes a few mistakes, but she’s only eleven, and is still figuring out who she is on top of trying to cope with the world ending. What I like best about her is her incredibly progressive approach to life especially regarding sex and non-standard personal relationships (In a polyamorous marriage? Candy’s got no problem with you). It is a little uncomfortable to read about an eleven year old making these particular sexual decisions, but it is better that she consider them and come to her own rational conclusion than to put it off and be stuck in a bad situation.

Emergence was originally published as a serial in a Sci-fi magazine and was collected for publication in 1984. Despite its age, it doesn’t really feel dated, with cassette tapes and NASA being a couple of glaring exceptions (it is SO SAD that NASA is dated, seriously, it makes me a little teary). However, I’m in no way a technical person and a lot of the jargon flew right over my head so maybe it just doesn’t feel dated to a layman. You STEM types are probably SOL.

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? Yes, do. Yeah yeah, post-apocalyptic, been done, blah blah. But it’s good and interesting and fun and goes to some unexpected places. There were at least 2 times I was all like “WHA? What just happened?” but in a good way. The end was just a little orly? but still, lots of fun.

Emergence by David R. Palmer

The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews, Books 1-5

Hey, another five-in-one, it’s almost like I’m not neglecting to post at all.

In an (ultimately destined to fail) attempt to read fewer romance novels, I started reading the Kate Daniels Urban Fantasy series. I borrowed the first 2 from the library because I’ve been burned by UF before (ahem, The Hollows/Rachel Morgan and obvs Anita Blake) and didn’t want to waste my money.

Encapsulate This

Set in Atlanta (sometime in the unspecified future), magic and technology co-exist uneasily. At any given moment, one or the other takes precedence and you could find your car stopping in the middle of street during a magic wave, or your wards failing during a tech wave. Tall buildings tend to fall down, and horse-back is probably the most dependable way to travel. Vampires, were-animals, fabled heroes, and various other not-so-mythological and fantastic creatures walk the streets.

Magic Bites: Kate Daniels lives near-ish to the city, she’s got an awesome sword and a bad attitude. Her former guardian has been murdered and she is out for justice (revenge really, it’s always revenge) and to find the killer, she has to cooperate with the Masters of the Dead (necromancers) and with the Pack (the various weres). Kate’s a sometime-mercenary, an all-the-time loner, and has a secret she must keep hidden at all costs.

Magic Burns: Someone is stealing from the Pack and they have requested Kate’s assistance with finding the thief. If that wasn’t enough, the magic waves have been coming closer together and will culminate in what is known as a flare. At the height of a flare, gods can walk the earth. If Kate can’t figure who out how to stop them from manifesting, shit will get real.

Magic Strikes: When Kate’s friend from the Pack gets himself nearly killed, she has to finagle her way into the Midnight Games (hey, an underground death match!) to find out who done it. What she discovers is a plot that could change the Pack FOREVER (doom doom doom).

Magic Bleeds: Someone is killing some other people, and Kate is called in to figure out who/why/how (they know where). Turns out that her secret is coming to bite her in the ass but it may also be the only reason she will survive the encounter with a deadly member of her own family…

Magic Slays: Kate is now running her own show and she hops on her first paying gig. The vampires are escaping the control of the necromancers and the Masters of the Dead want to know why. There is way more at stake than anyone realizes (hah, I made a pun) and Kate must stop a nefarious plot before it’s too late.  

Ruminate on That

When I first finished Magic Bites, I wasn’t totally enthralled but I was certainly intrigued. I thought the book was well written, had a pretty original take on magic in the modern world, some solid world-building, and had an independent, sword-carrying lady-protagonist that was like-able but not love-able. Kate’s smart but fallible, really good at what she does but not perfect, and she is terrible at personal relationships. She does sometimes take her independence to the point of idiocy, but that’s fine, she has a sword (I will forgive a lot of things if there are swords involved). Anyway, I liked it enough to nab the second book and Magic Burns builds on all the promise of the first book. While the story line is a bit confusing, it is more interesting because it reveals more about Kate’s history and the world-building just keeps on getting better. I liked book 2 so much that I immediately purchased books 3, 4, and 5 for my Kindle so I wouldn’t have to wait for the library copies (seriously library, one copy of each?). GUESS WHAT? I was not disappointed. Magic Strikes is AWESOME. I will go so far as to say it is the best of the series. Magic Bleeds and Magic Slays are pretty wicked but there is a bit more focus on romance and less on the total bad-assery that is Kate Daniels. The romance doesn’t overtake the story and I happen to like romance (no doy) but I thought that the tension between Kate and Mystery Man (totally not a mystery if you read the books, go read them) in book 3 was perfect. Also, underground DEATH MATCH. Also, also, Kate loves The Princess Bride (the book not the movie, since television doesn’t really work) which makes her a winner. Also, also, also Kate is (occasionally) hysterically funny, I cannot tell you how many weird looks I got from the boyfriend because I was laughing alone in the dark (not actually in the dark, else how would I be reading?) (Okay, no more also’s, I promise.)

I think that the series, which is awesome in many, many ways, has most of its strength in Kate’s character growth. She goes from “Meh, she’s aight” to “Whoa, that is one awesome lady*” without her becoming so perfect that I want to gag.

*(Unlike Anita Blake who became magic just because, Kate’s been training her whole life both with a sword and with magic. She is a special snowflake, but there are actual reasons for it. Also (hah, I lied), Kate’s extra-super-special-ness provides the focus and the final conclusion for the series. A lot of UF tends not to have an end-point and the stories are about whatever so they go on FOREVER and lose any cohesion they might have begun with (much like this sentence…). I don’t particularly care if it takes 10 books to get to the conclusion, I just want there to be a purpose (I do love a Great Quest). What I don’t want is to watch a character meander around doing whatever until the author gets bored or the series stops making money.)

Final Reckoning

Should you read these? HELL to the YES. Grab a snuggy and settle in for the weekend. The series gets better and better (despite what I said about book 3, that one was just my personal favorite).  I would hazard that there are at least 2 more books to come (the website lists that book 6 is in progress) but it’ll probably be awhile since the author/s have another series being released more-or-less concurrently. 

Tinker by Wen Spencer (Hey look, an Elf!)

I found this one through the comments on SBTB too. Seriously, unless you have hours and hours to spare, don’t read comments on the book-recommendation posts.

Encapsulate This

Set in the near-future, Pittsburgh (due to a faulty inter-dimensional gate) is now part of an alternate dimension called Elfhome (where the elves live, no doy). One day a pack of wargs chase a super-sexy elf noble into the scrap yard where genius inventor Tinker works/invents stuff. She saves the super-sexy elf noble (his name is Windwolf, or Wolf Who Rules Wind, or Wolf Who Rules, take your pick) from the weird-not-quite-wargs. Practical and intellectual, Tinker is eighteen, has never been kissed, and has never been on a date. Naturally, she is infatuated with (super-sexy elf noble) Windwolf. There is a whole lot of stuff going on in this book, so I will summarize thus: Tinker goes on a date with a long-time friend, things go badly, she meets up with Windwolf again, things go badly, she is kidnapped by good guys, things go badly, she meets the elf Queen, things go badly, she is kidnapped by bad guys, things go really badly, she sort-of saves the day, REALLY ABRUPT ENDING. (Even for a cliffhanger, it was a little ridiculous.)

Ruminate on That

As I said, there is a lot of stuff going on in this book. With the combination of magic/science, mythology, romance, sexy times, alternate dimensions, super-smart heroine, and super-sexy elves, it has a lot of potential but Tinker can be a bit of wet rag sometimes and there were a number of unresolved sub-plots (some due to the existence of the unexpected sequel). A large part of my problem with this one is that Tinker is absurdly smart but in a really narrowly defined way. Yes, she’s a genius but because she has little life experience she’s naïve and doesn’t ask questions when she should, so things happen to her instead of her making things happen.* I’m hopeful that this is intentional and we see some character growth in the next two (!) books.

Final Reckoning

Read this? I think the premise is interesting enough and the writing/style is good enough to mostly forgive the wishy-washy heroine. Honestly though, I may just like it because I love elves.

Tinker by Wen Spencer, Book 1 of Elfhome

*Real Talk: This bit is a little spoiler-y, so don’t read it if that bothers you.

*There are a few aspects of this story that make my inner feminist shriek. Lack of consent (as it pertains to sex and other things) is an obvious one. Windwolf takes advantage of Tinker’s lack of knowledge about elf customs more than once. Is it intentional? I don’t know. The elves divide themselves by caste, so maybe it is just supreme arrogance on his part. Maybe he assumes that Tinker knows what’s going on simply because she’s supposed to be super-smart. Either way, even when she does ask questions, she’s given evasive answers. For example, he turns her into an elf because he “doesn’t want her to die” which she takes to mean “immediately” but he means “eventually” because she’s human and thus mortal. This is a seriously fucked up thing to do to someone without EXPLAINING and giving them a chance to accept or refuse. And then there is a scene with a sexual assault that is treated dismissively. A victim of SA is entitled to deal with it how they choose, but it happens and is never mentioned again. An attempted rape should be more than a mere plot device. It felt like it was added to provide an out for Tinker to be with Windwolf without the annoying love triangle bit. I have a suggestion: Instead of using attempted rape to rid the narrative of an unwanted character, how about we just don’t have the unwanted character? Hmm?

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

I loved that title until I had to type it out. Anyway, if you are at all a fan of books that straddle the divide between poetry and prose, I suggest that you read Catherynne Valente’s books for adults immediately. I am particularly fond of In the Night Garden, Book 1 of The Orphan’s Tales. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland… is her first book for children. Ignore the age recommendation, it’s perfectly wonderful for adults too.

Encapsulate This

I am going to lift the synopsis from the book jacket because I am finding it difficult to summarize without ruining the magic. Because seriously, this book is magic.

“September is a girl who longs for adventure. When she is invited to Fairyland by a Green Wind and a Leopard, well, of course she accepts (Mightn’t you?). But Fairyland is in turmoil, and it will take one twelve-year-old girl, a book-loving dragon, and a strange and almost human boy named Saturday to vanquish an evil Marquess and restore order.”

Ruminate on That

I think what I love best about this story is the calm acceptance of whatever-may-be that September has. Of course the Green Wind has come to take her to Fairyland. And of course, she meets a Wyvern whose father is a library. She decides to do something, and then she just does it. That’s one of my favorite aspects of fairytales. There isn’t a lot of excuse-making.

I don’t really have an objective opinion here. I just love the hell out of this book. The writing style, the story itself, the lovely illustrations, pretty much everything made me happy. The only (slightly) low point for me was the villain’s motivation. It was the weakest point of the story. However, the ending made up for it. It ended concretely, but with lots of space to imagine the future. I hugged the book when I finished it. And if it hadn’t been 11:00 p.m., I probably would have read it again (I did that the next day instead).

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? ABSOLUTELY. Actually, you should buy it. But buy the hardcover, this is definitely one of those books that are better in print than they are in digital.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Disclaimer: I may be more hyped about this book because I just finished The Children’s Hospital by Chris Adrian and it was GODAWFUL. Really, it was the sorriest-sack-of-shit book I’ve read since The Corrections. It’s on my list of Books I Hate A Lot (not a real thing, I just made that up). What the fuck, Chris Adrian? That was 600 pages of bullshit.

Anyway, in order to bleach my brain, I decided to read Attachments. It was exactly what I needed to stop hating the whole world. Romance, geeky boy, funny gal, movie jokes? Awesome. (Just FYI, I found this book through Dear Author.)

Encapsulate This

Best friends Beth and Jennifer work together at the Courier. Jennifer is terrified of starting a family with her husband Mitch and Beth is waiting for her long-time boyfriend to propose. They send each other long, extremely personal, funny emails even though it’s against company policy and they know that someone is watching. That someone is Lincoln, who hates that it’s his job to monitor the employees’ email. Even though he knows it’s wrong, he reads every email between Beth and Jennifer. And bit by bit, he finds himself falling in love with Beth.

Ruminate on That

First, allow me to say that reading someone’s email is totally creep-tastic. Lincoln was a genuinely nice guy and he struggled with the ethicality of what he was doing but in the end, he did the right thing by Beth. So, yay for that. Also, yay for him not actively trying to break up Beth and her tool of a boyfriend.

The whole story alternates between the Beth/Jennifer emails and Lincoln’s point-of-view. The emails between Beth and Jennifer are really endearing/funny/sad and I totally get why Lincoln fell in love with Beth. The fact the he fell in love with her before he ever saw her face made my stomach hurt (in a good this-is-so-romantic kind of way). And watching his transformation from a lonely, kind-of-lost, awkward, adorable geek to a hopeful, finding-his-way, slightly-less-awkward, adorable geek was wonderful. I especially enjoyed watching his perspective on himself change. I was less convinced of Beth’s feelings, but she wasn’t formally introduced until fairly late in the story so I didn’t feel like I understood her reaction to Lincoln.

Parts of the story are pretty damn sad, parts are pretty damn funny and as a whole, it just flowed well. It could have felt jerky and disjointed with the back and forth between Lincoln’s POV and the emails, but oddly, I found the switching to be less jarring than some novels with traditional POV changes.

Final Reckoning

I really, really enjoyed reading this. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I finished it in one sitting. It was just a lot of fun. Have I mentioned that this is a debut novel? It is. So it gets double points for being awesome. And it gets bonus points because the emails reminded me of the ones Danielle and I send each other. I love books that have genuine friendships between lady-characters and not just potential-rival-hate-fests. Read this? Definitely.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So I bought this book last year for a dollar. It may possibly be the best dollar I’ve ever spent. No, that is not hyperbole, this book is pretty damn amazing. It isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but YA dystopian fantasy? Yes please, thank you.

Encapsulate This

Sometime in the distant (unspecified) future, the USA as a unified country has collapsed and has been replaced by a nation called Panem. Surrounding the central Capitol, the land has been divided into 12 Districts, with each district responsible for a specific trade. Every year, in each district, a girl and a boy between ages 12 and 18 are picked by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games, a contest that is televised throughout Panem to entertain the citizens of the Capitol and to subdue the outlying Districts. In order to win the Games, you have to be the last person alive in the arena.

Sixteen year-old Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, the poorest district in terms of both wealth and prestige. When her twelve year-old sister Prim is picked in the lottery, Katniss volunteers to take her place. The male tribute (what the lottery winners are called) is Peeta, a boy Katniss is familiar but not friendly with. Katniss hasn’t had time to consider all of the ramifications of taking her sister’s place, but she knows she can count on her best (only) friend Gale to take care of her family if she dies in the Games. She’s pretty sure she isn’t going to make it home.

Ruminate on That

If you have ever read Battle Royale (if you haven’t, you should), this is a familiar story. A lot of dystopian books have similar themes, so I don’t particularly care if the story is ALL NEW! NEVER SEEN BEFORE! I care if a story is told well. You guys, this story is told REALLY WELL. Despite very clearly being a cautionary tale, it rarely feels preachy. The pacing is perfect, what there is of dialogue is solid and there is a good amount of background information without info-dumping. The story is told in first-person present-tense (not my favorite, I’ve said before), so I felt Katniss’ experiences pretty viscerally. I was rooting for her even though she’s emotionally stunted, because she is pragmatic and capable. She’s far from perfect, she’s often cold, but I still wanted her to win.

Violence, especially violence-as-titillation, is a key element of the story, so be prepared for a fair bit of it (um, duh? The entire premise is an annual adolescent death-match). There are a couple of areas in the world-logic that are a little wonky, but actually, the only thing that really, truly bugged me was the romantic sub-plot. In general, I am a fan of the romance but (this applies mostly to the books to follow) a lot of the romantic element felt forced. So authors, please, stop with the love triangle. Pretty please?

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? Hell yes. I love this book so much that I bought a copy for my Kindle. It is a three volume series, so take that into consideration. And then buy it anyway. This book resolves the initial story arc well but there is lots of room for the story to continue. I’ll get around to reviewing the second and third books too.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Book 1 of 3 of The Hunger Games)