ARC Review - Hot Alphas by Lora Leigh, Laurelin McGee, Shiloh Walker, Kate Douglas

Hot Alphas
by Lora Leigh, Laurelin McGee, Shiloh Walker, Kate Douglas

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In Erin’s Kiss by Lora Leigh, ex-Marine Turk has become Erin’s sworn protector. The consistent target of her CIA-operative brother’s deadly foes, Turk is the only port Erin has to cling to in a storm. He promised her brother long ago never to touch her—but how can he resist a woman who aches to be with him as much as he burns for her?
In misTaken by Laurelin McGee, Jaylene Kim is a strong independent woman whose feminist values run deep. Even though attractive men are her weakness the last thing she wants is one telling her what to do. Until she meets her mysterious new neighbor. He makes her realize that you can still be strong and relinquish control . . . in the bedroom. But as their passion consumes them both Jaylene isn't so sure he is who he says he is.
In Burn for Me by Shiloh Walker, Tate longs to spend his nights with Ali, a woman he’s loved for years. But while Ali’s heart pines to be with Tate, her head has reservations. Ali knows that Tate has never forgiven his father for the fight he had with his mother right before she left the house—and was never heard from again. Tate's unresolved anger is a force to be reckoned with . . . but the heat that blazes between them is undeniable. Now both Tate and Ali are left to wonder: Can love really conquer all?
In Tangled by Kate Douglas, Nate shows up to work at Tangled Vineyards ready to do all the things he loves best—work with his hands, grow the grapes, and craft award-winning, full-bodied wines. But when something better comes along in the form of Cassie, the winemaker and former owner of the vineyard, Nate becomes completely love-drunk. Getting involved with Tangled’s number-one mixologist is a bad way to start off a new job, but with Cassie as a constant temptation, Nate doesn’t stand a chance…

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.


Erin’s Kiss-Once upon a time I had a love affair with Lora Leigh, I devoured everything she ever wrote, then devoured it all over again. I even remember the other Wounded Warriors stories, and I remember really enjoying them. Especially Cooper’s Fall. So after reading Erin’s Kiss, I went back and reread that one. And I still really enjoyed it, it’s sexy and over the top, and it kind of owns it. Even Sheila’s Passion was pretty good. Erin’s Kiss just fell flat for me, it was kind of bland. Even the overriding story arc in this series was bland. You could probably read this as a standalone because the connection to the series seems fairly superficial, but you’re definitely going to know it is part, of a series.

misTaken, is an awkward blend of feminist diatribe and feminist apologetic. Noah was cute and socially awkward and not at all an alpha. I rather enjoyed this character, but he didn’t seem to fit the Hot Alpha theme. Perhaps Jaylene was meant to be the hot alpha? Then we get the diatribe by her about how worthless romance novels are, fairy tales for “Basic B----es” and the total dismissal and disgust of anyone of anything that doesn’t fit her notion of feminism, yeah, that’s going to endear me. I get that it is likely meant to be tongue in cheek and aggressively to one side of the position to show a dramatic change, but it is highly irritating, and foreshadowing much? Yeah, I saw that plot twist coming from a mile away. The whole thing was like a social parody or essay even, and it took me completely out of the story and the characters. Presumably Jay’s two friends will also be getting their own stories, but nothing about this one made me want to keep an eye out for them.

Burn for Me-While I don’t exactly understand a woman that lets a relationship she isn’t happy with just coast for three years, I really got into this story, I dig couples who communicate. The couple was sweet, the mystery was interesting, and the cozy feel of the town and characters all made me want to read more. With this short format, maybe I don’t entirely buy the sea change in the hero’s emotional outlook, but I enjoyed it all anyway. I’ll be checking out the other books in the series.


Tangled-This story has sort of a sad start, then Cassie and Nate sit talking like old friends and hop right into bed. I wasn’t expecting to like this, with that sort of start and the co-workers angle, but Kate Douglas has a way about her. So instead of a strict workplace romance conundrum, we ended up with quite a mystery for such a short story. The relationship was obviously almost ridiculously rushed, but I enjoyed it anyway.


This is not the strongest anthology I’ve read in a while, but on the relative strengths of Burn for Me and Tangled, I’m giving it 3 stars.

                                                                                                                                              

Advance Review - Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

Day Shift
by Charlaine Harris

This blog is migrating to WordPress.

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.

There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.
Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading.
Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

This is the second book in Charlaine Harris' Midnight, Texas Series. I enjoyed Midnight Crossroad, but had some concerns at the aims for the series.

And I think I was right to be concerned with the aims. While there were flashes of brilliance, and elements that I enjoyed in this book, great big old chunks of it seemed like nothing more than backlist baiting. We have one very popular character of a former series who has shown up with what appears to be a retconned back-story and completely stripped of any of his former personality. (As an aside, due to events in this story it is apparent Harris has decided that the Dead But Not Forgotten book of stories is not canonical-which I find insanely frustrating.) And a second character from that series also made an appearance but it seemed contrived and not anything that couldn't better have been handled with someone in this series.

I enjoyed seeing more of Manfred, and I definitely enjoyed getting to know Olivia (she's so delightfully morally ambivalent). And Fiji, Chuy, Joe, and the Rev were very integral to the story and we were able to see more of their character's hidden facets. Bobo was more of a side character this time, as was Lemuel, and that is okay because trying to make everyone take center stage would have made this book even more scattered than it turned out to be. I think Ms. Harris might be struggling with a series that doesn't just have one or two main characters. And Manfred's mystery was overall very entertaining as was the side plot involving the new business in town. There were some "what were you thinking?/why aren't you thinking?" type moments with Manfred and Olivia, but they usually acknowledged those and corrected. But a third shoehorned in mystery was just too much and done for no real purpose that I can see at this time.

Finally, the book just sort of ended. Only one thing was resolved, and the rest was just left hanging. I suppose it is to set up for the next book, but really it felt abrupt and unfinished and I kept paging back and forth looking for the rest of it. I'll probably try to catch this at the library to make sure there isn't something that was fixed for the publication from the ARC.

Overall, I am rating this 3 stars, but bottom line-get it from the library, wait for paperback pricing, or cost share with a friend.

If you enjoyed this review, please consider "liking" it on Goodreads or Amazon.

Review - The Witch With No Name

The Witch With No Name
by Kim Harrison

Ok, so it took me a bit to write this review, I've been following Rachel Morgan, Jinx and Ivy for a long time, and it is tough to let go. On the other hand, it is good when an author knows when to let go too. Rachel and the gang have come a long way since they started, so book 13 was less about the action and the exposition, and more like an epilogue for the series. Yes, there is some action and drama, but this book was all about tying up the loose ends. Overall, the plot seemed frequently disjointed, as if Harrison was trying to cram everyone in there and tie all their threads too. I guess I just have mixed feelings on this. If this weren't the finale, I think I would have hated it because there were (in my opinion) too many deus ex machina. On the other hand, I will admit that when a series is completed but doesn't feel like everything is all tied up, it will piss me off, so I would have probably been madder if the book hadn't turned out the way it did.

So I am giving this 3 stars, while the series didn't end on a high note, it is probably about the best we can hope for with such a long running series. If I can kind of compare this to anything, it would be the feeling I got reading the last Harry Potter book, but maybe a little worse since The Hollows peaked for me a few books back. And while everything was just a little too neat for me in the epilogue of this epilogue, I am hoping Al's last word clears it up for me and lets this thing actually end on the high note I was hoping for.

Review- Dark Blood

Dark Blood
by Christine Feehan

This is book 26 in the Carpathian/Dark series, and most of us have been reading it since 1999, so Ms. Feehan kind of pre-dates the whole vampire craze, and it kind of shows. This book is absolutely not a stand-alone and you cannot just jump into the series from here, nothing would make any sense. Also, there will be spoilers.

I am going to admit, I did something I rarely do, which is read the reviews before reading a book I know I am going to read anyway. I don't typically do that because for a book I know that I am going to read, I don't want other people's opinions to color mine. With this book however, I have been toying with quitting the series. It has dragged on a really long time and we finally got Skylar's story, which is what I had been waiting for since Dark Legend in 2002. So needless to say, I went into this book with expectations, and frankly, they were negative ones. Several reviewers complained about angry sex being used to punish the heroine. Ever since I started with this series, the heroes have felt kind of rapey, there have definitely been elements of non-consent in these books, and a major theme has been that the hero basically takes over the heroine's life and is rather controlling in every aspect-not just the sex. But the flip side has always been that the heroines typically fight back and try to obtain and maintain a sense of independence and self-reliance. Maybe it is too much to expect from a romance novel series, but this series always felt kind of like a mirror of the feminist movement to me, and in many ways the series seemed to be reflecting a movement towards more independent females who actually fight and have tremendous powers and gifts of their own, ones who are more self-reliant etc. Except lately it felt like more steps were being taken backwards than forwards. So I was prepared to hate this and just rip into it so that I could give up on the series altogether. But it really wasn't like that. Yes, there is grudge sex and aggressive sex, but the heroine is actually into that. Where it not just ok in my book, what makes it so much a step in the right direction for this series, is that the Zev actually tells Brannislava that if she isn't okay with things she needs to tell him and he will stop, and he doesn't say that just at the beginning, there is ongoing verification of consent throughout an event. That is such a change from the first books that it is just extraordinary in my opinion. Yes, we have had gentler, more considerate heroes (Razvan comes to mind), but this is the first time we have had an extremely dominant aggressive one who requests consent.

Of course, now we get to the actual issues with the series as a whole, in my opinion. The sex is kind of boring but overly plentiful and utilizes the type of flowery language and long drawn out scenes that I am learning to loathe. There is also the made up Carpathian language and spells and chants that Feehan is obviously very proud of, because they are literally everywhere. They add absolutely nothing to the story for me, so I tend to skip anything that is italicized just for my own sanity. Those things have been around for quite some time in these books and while I have been able to get through it, I can't tell if I am just getting more irritated with it over time, or if it is just becoming more pervasive.

What I am having trouble forgiving with this particular story is how repetitive and clunky it is. How many times do we really need to be reminded just what and who our main characters are? I don't know, but I can guarantee you that it is less than how many times it happened in this book. And, there has been an overriding arc  of villains in this series that included the Mage Xavier and the Malinov brothers. Xavier and three of the Malinov brothers have been killed, but that still left us with 2 Malinov brother, one of whom has actually has two slivers of Xavier in him. Then we added the issues with the Lycans and as far as I am concerned, those things could and should have more than fulfilled the villain quotient for the rest of this series. But NO! We add the deus ex machina of all villain plot lines. Xavier wasn't actually alone. Oh, no, he was actually one of a group of identical triplets who all pretended to be the same person and the only ones who actually knew were Brannislava and Tatjiana, and they don't bother to say anything to anyone because they thought Xavier killed them. So Xavier wasn't actually the mastermind behind the downfalls of the Carpathians, Jaguars, and the Lycans. Nope, he was just behind the Carpathians troubles, Xaviero has apparently been dealing trouble to the Lycans, and Xayvion was behind the destruction of the Jaguar race. And for some reason, Xavier was the only one literally rotting and requiring a new body even before he was killed, and these other two are doing just fine. And guess what? They are trying to bring Xavier back from the dead. Why? I am just not sure, Xayvion is obviously the more successful of the three, and Xavier is obviously the eff up who managed to out himself and screw up many times and get caught and killed, but whatever, they must need him to complete this mysterious plan that has been rocking along for hundreds of years. I'm baffled by the direction this took and I can't quite decide if this is a direction Feehan has been planning since we found out Xavier sired triplets on the stolen Carpathian (come to think, how do we even know they ARE Xavier's), or if after the last book she just said, you know, I am never going to get another 20+ books with the villains I've got, I'd better amp things up a bit. I also find myself a bit frustrated by how many additional supernatural creatures she's been throwing at the series. We've now got demons and hellhounds and whatever else, and for the past 25 books no one ever came across them or mentioned them more than briefly in the case of the demons, but all of the sudden they just show up and people just know how to handle them, like ho hum, didn't I mention the hellhounds...no, well, there they are, by the way you got any hyssop oil? This story is just...clunky.

So, as much as I am complaining, I am giving this 3 stars because IMO, Feehan's heroes have become much less rapey and FINALLY we have a hero that checks consent, because it kept me entertained, and actually entertained enough that I will likely still read the next book (I just can't quit Feehan), and nostalgia-because I have now been in this series for 26 books and apparently I just can't quit Feehan.

Advance Review - Her Last Whisper

Her Last Whisper
Karen Robards

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is book three in the series and absolutely is NOT a standalone. While I'll grant you a story about a criminal psychiatrist who can see the ghosts of the violently departed and is involved in a love triangle with a living FBI agent and a dead serial killer sounds like an altogether insane and confusing plotline, reading this book without reading the others is only going to make things worse. Moreover, my review isn't going to make any sense if you don't know the characters either.

Reviews for previous books in the series:

The Last Victim

The Last Kiss Goodbye

So to start with, this is definitely not the end of a trilogy. Imagine me banging my head against the wall, repeatedly. I don't know where I got it into my head that this would be a trilogy, but I honestly thought it was, and the ending of book 2 for some reason reinforced that impression. It's not, so now I've got to be all irritated waiting around for the next book. I'm truly hoping that one has some sort of resolution, because as understanding as I was about this being a multiple book thing after the first one, because this kind of crazy sauce definitely needed a little more room to work, the bloom is definitely off the rose so far as I'm concerned, and I'm looking for some payoff.

Charlie's back at work in the prison with a truly irritated ghost who thinks she should be on a vacation after her last case. That last case had the unfortunate side effect of opening her senses even further to ghosts, which is where her issues in this book pick up. She also has serious trouble saying no to the FBI, no matter how much she exclaims about how all she wants to do is finish her research. I'd doubt her resolve, but this particular case involves Lena's sister, so I can understand why she feels she needs to help. Which I guesses is my next point; I've become much more interested in Lena and Buzz's story than I am Charlie and Michael, despite the former pair's relatively short page time. When you are just waiting for the resolution of the main characters and find yourself less and less interested in their story, that's a problem. Granted, we find out a whole lot more about Michael, and the story definitely flirts with exploring the nature of guilt and innocence and what does it take to be dammed. Philosophically, it starts to explore if we are condemned not just for what we've done, but our own perspective of and feelings about our actions. But, it doesn't delve long or deeply into those themes. And I want a happily ever after for Michael in the worst way. What's happened to him and what may happen keeps me invested to a point. This is definitely the point where the next book better dammed well give me a happily ever after or I'm going to have less than pleased feelings about the series as a whole. It's felt like we've been building towards something, but without any payoff, this pleasant feelings may evaporate to nothing.

In the end, this is still my kind of crazy sauce story. As I was reading it, I was kept entertained by the mystery and the characters. I honestly didn't see the perpetrator coming, but that could be mostly because I was blinded by the crazy that is Spookville and the relationship between Charlie and Michael. But the ending just feels like being jerked around, so in retrospect, it colors my feelings tremendously. I waiver between enjoying this insanity and being absolutely irritated by the whole thing. Book 4 is either going to see me thrilled with a truly bizarre series, or pissed I've wasted this many hours of my life on something.

Review- The Last Kiss Goodbye

The Last Kiss Goodbye
by Karen Robards

This is the second book in the series. I gave the first book, The Last Victim 3 stars.

This is still the kind of crazy sauce I tend to adore. While Dr. Charlotte Stone had pretty much decided to quit with the FBI work already and get back to her research, the plottings of a deadly serial killer land, quite literally, on her doorstep. Which brings back delicious FBI Agent Tony, and heats up the love triangle between Charlie, Tony and Michael. But really? It is still all about Michael. And there is some pretty juvenile posturing going down between Charlie and Michael (poor Tony is completely out of the loop on this), but I find it hard to denigrate it, because when one of the twosome is basically incorporeal there has to be something to ratchet up the tension. And, while the crazy sauce romance mix was definitely still up front and center, the mystery here was also a major part of it too. That part was pretty fun, but much of this book is just a hot mess. One of the bright parts those, was the emerging characterizations of Buzz and Lena and I am really hoping for some more page time. Besides Lena and Buzz, what saved this book for me was that the mystery took a little more center stage and was fairly griping, we get a bit more hints about Michael's true nature, and the ENDING. The ending completely rocked my world.

So, I am tentatively giving this 3 stars, because I liked this well enough to keep going in the series. there were some issues, and I don't totally love everything about this, but the crazy sauce levels have eased down to bearable and the mystery has come up just enough, and I've learned about Michael just enough.

OpenLibrary Review- Seventh Heaven

Seventh Heaven
Catherine Anderson

Seventh Heaven is available to borrow on Openlibrary. That's right, free to anyone with an internet connection through Read in Browser, or to anyone with an internet connection and Adobe Digital if they want to have it on their shelves for a while.

This particular book caught my eye because I remember it being an incredibly sweet and romantic second chance love story, but edgy too because it was either the first, or one of the first books I ever read about a rape survivor. I remembered thinking that it was remarkably well done, and I was curious to see if this book held up to my memories of it.

What we have here is two best friends from childhood who became high school sweethearts, then are ripped apart by tragedy in college, and are meeting again 10 years later after a whole lot of rough life for both of them. Joe Lakota is a dominant former pro-football player with a small child named Zachary. Zachary is a plot moppet, but he's fairly integral to the story, and reasonably cute. Marilee is a neurotic mess, but all things considered, she has every right to be. Some of what she did and did not do doesn't make sense till more than a third of the way into the book so in reviews I saw quite a few DNF's based ont that, but, her reasoning eventually does make sense if you get through it.

So how does it stack up against my memories? Not quite as well as I had hoped. Joe did some pretty bone headed things and while he usually caught on, at least in his head, he never truly expressed that to Marilee. It is still mostly sweet and romantic, but there are ways and places that Joe pushed, that I was just not entirely comfortable with. But he never really pushed the sex angle either, so it was at least acceptable. Altogether, for a book published in 2000, I am still fairly happy with how the treatment of a rape survivor with PTSD was handled. No magic smexing magically made her all better, and Marilee's panic felt very real to me.

I am not quite sure whether or not to recommend this book. I still liked it, but I can see where some people are going to be put off with various aspects of it. basically though, if the events described in the book aren't triggering to you (and they are fairly graphic), and you like or want a bit more realism in your contemporary, then this might still be a good choice.

Review- The Last Victim

The Last Victim

by Karen Robards

OK, I'd held off on this series because I am not a huge fan of serialized romantic suspense. I just get frustrated with it in a way I don't with Urban Fantasy. That's a personal failing of mine. But when I received a copy of the third, and presumably final book of the series, from Netgalley, I figured it was time to take the plunge. This book came out almost 2 years ago, so I am not going to do much summarizing, plenty of people have done much more thorough jobs already.

Basically what we have is Charlotte Stone, a criminal psychologist studying serial killers due to tragic events in her past. She is supposedly brilliant and the best in her field, which is how she lands a grant that has her working with serial killers on death row. Following one of her sessions with Michael Garland, a man convicted of killing 7 women, he's shanked in the heart and dies under her hand. Which brings me to my next point, Dr. Charlotte Stone sees and can talk to the recently departed.

Now, upfront I want to say that I tend to adore Robards' morally ambiguous or even ambivalent heroes and I have ever since One Summer, Night Magic, and Walking After Midnight. It is kind of catnip for me, that mysterious maybe he's bad, maybe he isn't thing. I also tend to enjoy a little crazy sauce in both my romantic suspense and my paranormal romance. So, I was somewhat predisposed to like this. But it turns out that pouring crazy sauce over a mash up of romantic suspense and paranormal romance may just be a little too much. I can understand a bit better why Robards is dragging this out, because it is just too much ground to cover in one setting. Unfortunately, in this one, the suspense/mystery as well as the supporting characters really aren't given justice. I'll grant you, I didn't figure out the villain situation until the heroine did, but frankly, I think that is mostly because hardly any time seemed to be spent on the subject. On the other hand, we spent an inordinate amount of time angsting over Michael Garland over both the ghost aspect and the serial killer aspect, how she feels about him, her confusion between her feelings between Tony the FBI agent and Garland the serial killer, her feelings about her past, her sex life with or without the ghost, the beyond and the rules about her interactions with ghosts. The living serial killer and the associated victims weren't the story; they were the plot device for the love triangle shaping up here. And the three FBI agents, right now aren't really characters, they are cardboard cutouts in place of characters, and I am actually hoping to get more insight into them, especially Lena.

I am giving this book 3 stars, because while I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either (don't judge, I already admitted my love of crazy sauce) and over time I think this could possibly be developed into something interesting and fun....that is if you like the strange and crazy on occasion.

Review- Falling for Owen

Falling for Owen
by Jennifer Ryan

Last month I read and reviewed The Return of Brody McBride, which I found deliciously soap opera-esque. In Falling for Owen, we have Brody's long suffering brother who took care of Rain, Autumn, and Dawn all those years. When one of his client's ex-husband flips his lid and attacks Owen's neighbor, it puts Owen and and Claire together, which makes the villain furious.

So, I am going to get the bad out of the way first, it was sometimes a bit draggy, particularly some of the dialogue, and I found the mystery to not be so very mysterious, but then maybe I have a bit of a cynical mind. And frankly, I didn't quite feel the connection to the characters or between the characters as well as I did with the previous book.

Still, I actually really enjoyed the book. Jennifer Ryan seems to write very soap opera type plots and characters. Her world is one where the good guys and gals are almost painfully good and the villains are irredeemable. They are a bit of a guilty indulgence for me, no real thinking required. For the most part Claire is a strong and feisty heroine and while the characters and situations, when all put together, are over the top ridiculous, individually they are relatively believable. I'll likely continue reading this series with Dylan's Redemption.

Review- Shredded

Shredded
by Tracy Wolff

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Z (whose actual name we never do find out) is a 21-year-old world-class snowboarder with self-esteem issues and a death wish. Granted, he's had some effed up stuff happen in his life, so maybe he's slightly justified, though the people around him aren't for the way they've enabled his behavior. Ophelia is an 18 or 19 year old who is just trying to escape her past following a fairly traumatic event. Ignore the part of the Goodreads story blurb that says "But laying low is her only option after her ex, a rich boy who couldn’t take no for an answer, nearly killed her in a jealous rage." Because that's so far off base in its implications that I'm not sure whoever wrote it even read past the first few chapters. Every other blurb says "But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both physically and emotionally." They are two very damaged individuals who haven't even begin to work through their own issues and are either going to find a way to help each other or both have cataclysmic melt downs.

Review- New Pack Order

New Pack Order
by Eve Langlais

3 stars

This is the fourth book in Langlais' Pack series and Roderick is finally dead, but the consequences of his actions are still snowballing. Antonia is one of Roderick's experimental activated dormants, Marc is on a mission to redeem himself from the things he'd done as a minion, and Thaddeus is a vampire with a price on his head. There's quite a bit of action and the world building and story arc has progressed quite a bit with this entry, though it turns out that we've traded one villain for a new and scarier super villain, identity unknown. But, Nathan's character, from Defying the Pack has completely changed, and not in a good way.

This was a quick fun read that introduces new characters and new story arcs. The romance between the three protagonists was nice and steamy, and of course, since it is Langlais, it's humorous as well. I'm hoping the next turn in the series makes Nathan and his pack pull their heads out of their butts.

Review- Rock Crazy

Rock Crazy
by Rochelle Weber

3 stars

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

Katie is supposedly bipolar, and along with the common occurrence of her going off her meds when she feels well, even when she does take them they're not entirely effective. The only other option is surgical impntation of a chip in her brain, which she's afraid of and so refuses. So her husband, Scott, hatches a plan to take her to the moon where the only doctor who performs the brain implant surgery for her condition works. He works out an elaborate plan to divorce her and cause her to hit rock bottom so she'll have the surgery.

I didn't care for either of these characters in the slightest. Katie is spoiled and entitled and Scott is a shortsighted enabling ass. He enabled her for years and but finally gets fed up, and then instead of being a responsible adult he's a manipulative prick. And he's shocked that she doesn't immediately trust him him when he tells her he wants her back? It's ridiculous. I also had two other points of confusion. One, vomiting at 1/6 earth gravity should probably not be as easy peasy as it is here, and two, Katie really seemed to be schizophrenic rather than bipolar.

Additionally, it wasn't a very long story and the writing, particularly the dialogue, was kind of wooden. And except for Katie and Scott, the rest of the characters were one dimensional.

But, I don't actually have to like characters to enjoy a book, and that's the case here. The premise was really interesting, both having a heroine with a mental illness and the ideas of how the mentally ill might be treated in the future. I also enjoyed the world Ms. Weber has been building. And I would imagine that if I had read Rock Bound then I would feel more in tune with the rest of the characters.

Bottom line, I'm giving this three stars mostly because of the originality and the risk, but while I liked it, I didn't love it. And at the $5.99 price tag I'm not sure I I'd actually recommend it to anyone except people looking for a very different story or people on a disabled protagonist kick. However, if you are on what of those sort of reading kicks, go for it, this is definitely the book for you.

Review-Magic City: Recent Spells

Magic City Recent Spells


I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

This is a collection of previously published short stories, so really the only new information is Paula Guran's introduction and the way they are indexed. Each story is prefaced with the city and the type of magic it has.

It's a little hard to decide just how to rate a collection like this, especially when none of the material is newly published. However, considering how eclectic it is, it's likely only the most rabid of anthology collectors will have read every single story. I'm a bit rabid about anthologies myself, and have probably only read a third of the ones in this collection. It is also has a greater percentage of what I would consider sad stories in it. So, averaging it all out, this collection rates a solid 3 stars, but if you are thinking about picking it up just because it has one of your favorite authors in it, take a closer look and determine if it is a short story you already have in your collection.

Street Wizard by Simon R. Green

2 stars

No real substance or plot, just a night in the life of a street wizard, the magical equivalent of a traffic cop.


Paranormal Romance by Christopher Barzak

3 stars

A witch who specializes in love is set up on blind date by her interfering mother. Short sweet story with a surprise ending.

Grand Central Park by Delia Sherman

3 stars

I'm not quite sure how to describe this story, so I'll just say it didn't initially capture my attention, but the ending makes it worth the reading.


Spell Caster 2.0 by Jonathan Maberry

1 star

This one isn't new to me, I didn't care for it the first time I read it, and a re-read didn't improve my opinion. It's too...moralistic.


Wallamelon by Nisi Shawl

3 stars

This is a lovely, magical story of the costs of growing up and being different.


-30- by Caitlin R. Kiernan

DNF- Didn't hook me and the writing style felt awkward.


Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs

5 stars

I've probably read this story 100 times and it seems like I enjoy it more with each reading. It's so complete. The characters are fully fleshed and the story itself doesn't take short cuts. It also doesn't hurt that these are integral characters of a large series, so you get to continue their story through other character's eyes.


Stone Man by Nancy Kress

4 stars

Despite the fact that this story is sort of depressing, the world and the characters are well crafted and compelling.


In the Stacks by Scott Lynch

4 stars

"RETRIEVE. RETURN. SURVIVE."

"The inherent magic of all undergraduates-the magic of the last minute. The power to embrace any skein, no matter how insane or desperate."

During grad school it often felt as though the library was out to get me. This just took it to it's logical, magical conclusion. And it's chock full of quotes that will resonate with anyone who has spent too much time in an academic library.


A Voice Like a Hole by Catherynne M. Valente

3 stars

One of the oddest shorts I've read.


The Arcane Art of Misdirection by Carrie Vaughn

2 stars

This is another re-read, it's not bad, but some of the oomph is lost in the repeat.


The Thief of Precious Things by A.C. Wise

3 stars

A strange and fascinating peek at a post-apocalyptic dystopian world full of shifters, magic and defunct technology.


The Land of Heart's Desire by Holly Black

3 stars

A story dealing with the fear that love is ephemeral and how a person (or fairy) deals with it.


Snake Charmer by Amanda Downum

4 stars

Another sad story, this time about revenge and dragons, and maybe getting not what you want, but what you need.


The Slaughtered Lamb by Elizabeth Bear

3 stars

A werewolf drag queen finally finds acceptance.


The Woman Who Walked with Dogs by Mary Rosenblum

2 stars

Nighttime is a strange and magical place for the imaginative mind of a child.


Words by Angela Slatter

2 stars

Wordsmith witch annoys neighborhood parents, who try to annoy her back.


Dog Boys by Charles de Lint

3 stars

New kid in school story with a twist. Kind of cute and sweet.


Alchemy by Lucy Sussex

3 stars

Set in ancient Babylon, this story takes a look at how a person must determine the costs of knowledge.


Curses by Jim Butcher

2 stars

The Harry Dresden series just doesn't lend itself well to shirt stories in my opinion.


De La Tierra by Emma Bull

3 stars

An enhanced mortal hitman learns a lesson. Honestly, I'd like to see more about how this world plays out. The concept is intriguing.


Stray Magic by Diana Peterfreund

3 stars

Sweet, heartwarming story about a very special dog and a very unique volunteer.


Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor

2 stars

An Igbo, Nigerian, American lawyer takes a hell of a can ride to get to her sister's wedding 


Pearlywhite by Marc Laidlaw & John Shirely

3 stars

Another sad story about homeless kids. Well written and imaginative, it's worth the read as long as you aren't looking for happily ever after.

Prudence and the Professor

Prudence and the Professor
by Sibelle Stone


I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Prudence Worthington is a business minded war widow who intends to make enough money to open her own business school and get completely out from under the thumb of her horrid in-laws. Professor Gerritt Rhinehart is a crazed inventor who eschews the paperwork side of his business in favor of working on his fantastical creations and supporting and developing the entire town. The whole thing is set in a steampunk version of Wyoming in the 1800's during the civil war.

There are mysteries surrounding who wants Garritt's inventions and who wants Prudence out of town and it wasn't immediately clear who the villain or villains were. It is a fun and amusing story, and the characters can be quite hilarious, particularly Alma. And I wasn't bothered by the supposed character transplant as the story went along, because to me that was sort of the point, neither one of them were really the character they tried to present to the world, so it made sense they would try to show their true selves to one another. The thing that did bother me was that the steam punk elements seemed to be more of a plot device or a sop to enter a less crowded sub-genre than an integral part of the world building, as there was really very little mention of curiosities being used in everyday life, and the ones mentioned were sketchily rendered to the reader. Additionally, the addition of the paranormal element three quarters of the way into the book was a bit startling. It will be interesting to see how that might play out in future books.

Overall I enjoyed this book, and the adjective that first comes to mind is "rollicking", it just didn't blow me away like Meljean Brook's Iron Seas series, but then few books are likely to reach that level so it probably isn't a fair comparison. And, while I should have known from the blurb, this was really more historical romance than steam punk.

The Return of Brody McBride

The Return of Brody McBride
by Jennifer Ryan

3 Stars

I picked this up because I was looking for the sort of soap opera-esque slush novel that is just perfect sometimes as escapism when you are stressed. And mostly that's what I found. Here we have Army Ranger Brody McBride, the former town bad boy who impregnated the town bike and the town virgin in once week, then promptly jetted out of town to find himself. He's back 8 years later, scarred and with PTSD and ready to take back up with Rain Evans, the woman he thinks he might finally be worthy of. It's a set up ripe for hijinks.

Brody is a Mary Sue hero (the scarred and damaged edition). He is as contrite and apologetic and self-flagellating as even the most hard core woman could want when it comes to cheating heroes. Granted, he didn't exactly cheat, because he and Rain weren't exactly together when he took a ride on the town bike, but that level of groveling was definitely there. And while he desperately wants Rain's love he just can't quite believe he can obtain it once he knows everything she has had to sacrifice over the years. Plus he is instantly in love and just about perfect (with the exception of his PTSD) with the daughters he only just found out existed.

But it's ok. Rain is almost a Mary Sue herself. 8 years ago she certainly was furious with Brody, but of course when she found herself pregnant she forgave him. And because of her great love for him, when she finds out Roxy-the town bike and most evil woman in the town is also pregnant, she buys the baby from her so that Roxy won't kill it. She sacrifices all her dreams and is basically in her heart of hearts just sitting on a shelf waiting for Brody to come back (I am tired of this trope, but at least Rain is active in her town and her dad's shop so she wasn't a complete husk). And sure, when he does come home, she is mad for just a little bit until her better nature takes over and she gives herself, her love, and her forgiveness to him. Hijinks ensue and they deal with the evil Roxy and everything is now perfect and they live happily ever after.

It probably seems like I didn't like this book, but honestly I did. I thought I was getting a book that was over the top ridiculous and wouldn't take itself too seriously, but while there were a few OTT spots, this was a book that was trying to be very serious, it really wasn't humorous nor did the author tell this story tongue in cheek. It was a nice story with a pretty good treatment of a former soldier with PTSD. I liked the characters to despite the fact that they were all just a little bit too nice and too understanding. Except of course for Roxy who had not one redeeming quality, not one redeeming moment in her whole entire misbegotten life. So when I was able to suspend disbelief (much harder for me when I am reading contemporary) it was an engaging story with supporting characters I am interested in reading more about.

It is still a slush book, but not an over the top ridiculous one, so you shouldn't go in expecting the sort of over the top cheese of something like Pregnesia, but it is still worth a read, especially if you can pick it up at a library.