Review | Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire

Midnight Blue-Light Special
Seanan McGuire
InCryptid #2
Published 5 March 2013 by DAW (Penguin)
Urban fantasy
4 stars

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity--and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and when her work with the cryptid community took her to Manhattan, she thought she would finally be free to pursue competition-level dance in earnest. It didn't quite work out that way...

But now, with the snake cult that was killing virgins all over Manhattan finally taken care of, Verity is ready to settle down for some serious ballroom dancing—until her on-again, off-again, semi-boyfriend Dominic De Luca, a member of the monster-hunting Covenant of St. George, informs her that the Covenant is on their way to assess the city's readiness for a cryptid purge. With everything and everyone she loves on the line, there's no way Verity can take that lying down.

Alliances will be tested, allies will be questioned, lives will be lost, and the talking mice in Verity's apartment will immortalize everything as holy writ--assuming there's anyone left standing when all is said and done. It's a midnight blue-light special, and the sale of the day is on betrayal, deceit...and carnage.

Bite-Sized Review
One of the best books I've read this year, Midnight Blue-Light Special is an excellent followup to Discount Armageddon, filled with excitement, danger, suspense, romance, and the religious ecstasy of Aeslin mice. HAIL!

Chocolate (things I liked)
-MBLS has what I consider a perfect balance of action, romance, humor, suspense, and all the other things that make a book great. The romance is more background, but intertwines well with the actual plot. Parts of the book are absolutely hilarious, nail-biting-inducing, and heart-breaking.

-The world has enough that's familiar to avoid being too descriptive in world-building, but is creative enough to seem different from anything you might have seen before. Plus the idea of being a cryptozoologist is pretty awesome.

-MBLS's cast of characters is diverse and relatable. Verity, a cryptozoologist-cum-ballroom-dancer, has a fun voice to read, and it's distinct from Sarah, the telepathic mathematician who narrates for part of the the book. The supporting characters are also unique and fascinating, which is a huge part of what makes this series special.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-I'm rarely a fan of sudden point of view changes. Granted, I didn't hate this one, and I did like seeing things from Sarah's perspective, but it still didn't seem entirely necessary to me. So while the perspective shift isn't awful, it isn't my favorite either.

-I have to wait a whole year to read the next book...

Recommended for
People...who like good stories. You will probably enjoy InCryptid if you like Diana Rowland, Ilona Andrews, and Jim Butcher.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

Review | Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost Burned
Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson #7
Published 5 March 2013 by Ace (Penguin)
Urban fantasy
3 stars

Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…

After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted.

Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

Bite-Sized Review
While any fan of the Mercy Thompson books will probably enjoy Frost Burned, it doesn't really add much to the series. There's nothing here that we haven't seen before, and more than once.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-Frost Burned is not a bad book. On the contrary, there's a lot that's good about it. Mercy has now really accepted her role in Adam's pack, as well as the mate bond and all that comes with it, and the pack has, for the most part, accepted her as well. It's great to see how much she's grown throughout the series.

-My favorite character is the book is definitely Kyle. He's one of my favorites in the series, but in Frost Burned, he really shines. I seriously wish we could have seen some more of Warren as well, but I guess you can't have everything.

Brussels Sprouts (things I disliked)
-Although I certainly enjoy the series, which is why I'm still reading at book seven, I've never really been a fan of Mercy herself. She has always struck me as a bit on the annoying side of self-righteous, even (read: especially) when she has no reason to be. That's the main reason I prefer Briggs' spinoff Alpha & Omega series -- I'm pretty sure it's impossible not to love Anna.

WARNING: the next couple bullets are a bit spoilery. No actual plot details, but there are things you might not want to know if you really hate spoilers.

-I don't want to say too much about the plot of the book, but it really seems like every aspect of it has already happened in a way that's quite similar to what occurs here. The characters even reference those past events explicitly. Now I've heard that there's nothing new under the sun, but there really can't be that small of a range of options that it doesn't even last seven books.

-The pacing of the book is...odd. At the point where it seemed to be wrapping up, I looked at the progress bar on my Kindle and it informed me that I was less than halfway through, and unfortunately the entire second half turns out to be mainly tying up loose ends. Not to mention the fact that the conclusion sort of jumps out of nowhere and isn't even that clear in retrospect, which always leaves me a bit disappointed.

-I really expected there to be more fallout from the end of Fair Game. I guess it's technically a different series, so maybe more will happen in the next Alpha & Omega book, but it honestly barely affected the plot at all.

Recommended for
Anyone who enjoys the series.

Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Good

Review | The Devil You Know by Mike Carey

The Devil You Know
Mike Carey
Felix Castor #1
Published 2007 by Warner Books (Hachette)
Urban fantasy
3 stars

Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghost buster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle--but there's a risk: Sooner or later he's going to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London - just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That's OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off...

Bite-Sized Review

The Devil You Know is a fairly intriguing start to a new series despite a slightly dragging middle.

Chocolate (things I liked)

-The world is sort of a less malevolent version of Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series. In spite the abundance of necromancers in the world of urban fantasy, exorcists seem to be in short supply, so it's always interesting to see one. And with the huge variety of legends and beliefs surrounding ghosts and life after death, that kind of world-building allows an author to be very creative.

-The mystery remains a mystery until the solution is actually revealed. I cycled through a number of suspects and never guessed the real culprit, much less the full horror of what happens. Granted, parts of the story are clear pretty early on, but for much of it I wasn't even close. The Devil You Know is a dark and gritty story, another feature it shares with Downside Ghosts.

-While the book doesn't end in a cliffhanger (fortunately), it does leave quite a few possibilities for future stories. There's just enough question to keep the reader interested in the next book without being actually painful. (I'm looking at you, Fever.)

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)

-The book could have been tightened up a bit, especially in the middle. There's a point where Fix has no idea what's going on, and that point stretches out for more than a bit too long. I think I would have finished this book a lot faster if I hadn't kept getting distracted because I was bored in the middle.

-I'm not really enamored of any of the characters. I don't dislike any of them, they just don't seem to have enough personality to actually have real feelings about. This particular issue is something that could definitely resolve itself in later books, so I'm hoping the problem will eventually disappear.

Recommended for

Fans of Downside Ghosts or Simon R. Green's Nightside series.

Quality: Acceptable

Enjoyability: Acceptable

Bite-Sized Reviews

In which I notice that, hmmm, I have several books that I meant to review but then I got distracted by new and shiny other books. Life is hard...

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine
Revivalist #1
3 stars

Working Stiff is a dark and interesting take on zombies filled with moral ambiguities and layered characters. While a bit slow in places, it definitely has the potential to become an excellent series. Recommended for fans of My Life as a White Trash Zombie and Unholy Magic -- imagine it as somewhere between the two.

The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Crosspointe #1

3 stars

The Cipher gets off to a promising start, and, after stalling a bit in the middle, delivers a solid finish. While the book is a little overly focused on what seems like a strange romance, overall the unusual magic system and the last third or so of the book manage to make up for it. Recommended for fans of Holly Lisle and possibly Kate Elliot.

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Sabina Kane #1
3 stars

Red-Headed Stepchild doesn't do much to stand out from the urban fantasy crowd, but it is an enjoyable read, though Sabina can be annoying at times. Recommended for anyone who's craving more urban fantasy and doesn't need anything particularly new.

Mister Monday by Garth Nix

Keys to the Kingdom #1

3 stars

I find that Garth Nix's works generally have excellent, unique magic systems but fail to live up to their world-building prowess in the storytelling department. Like Nix's other books, Mister Monday has a fascinating world, but the story doesn't really capture the reader's attention until the last third or so. That's not to say the writing is bad -- it's not -- but somehow I always expect the writing to be as compelling as the world. Recommended for fans of The Graveyard Book and a less funny Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3 stars

In an almost exact reversal of Garth Nix's strengths, Jennifer L. Armentrout is a captivating writer who doesn't seem to publish anything really original. Like her other works, Cursed is nothing you haven't seen before, but the addictive quality of JLA's writing carries it towards the front of the YA line. Recommended for fans of the usual YA paranormal suspects.




I guess it's no wonder I wasn't in much of a hurry to publish these -- they were all good but not really excellent. I could, however, easily see other readers very much enjoying any of them, depending on tastes, so if one sounds interesting, definitely give it a try. All of them are also the first in their series, so they might be worth trying anyway; the best books often come later.

Review | The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell
Richelle Mead
Bloodlines #3
Published 12 Feb 2013
YA urban fantasy
4.5 stars

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Bite-Sized Review
The Indigo Spell is a spectacular continuation of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff, with enough suspense, action, and romance to make any reader happy.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-The balance and pacing in this book are just about perfect. There are several different stories going on at the same time, and all of them are both important and interesting. Because the plotlines cover the Alchemists, magic, and Sydney and Adrian's relationship, there's really an excellent balance of suspense and romance.

-Sydney and Adrian are a brilliant couple. At the beginning of this series, I actually wasn't sure about their relationship, but they are astonishingly good for one another. Richelle Mead has done a great job building their relationship.

-Let's not forget about the secondary characters. Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Trey, Ms. Terwelliger, and all the others have interesting, complementary personalities. The Amberwood "family" has grown so much over the series. Of course they can be annoying sometimes, but then, so can any family.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-Having to wait until November for The Fiery Heart!

Review | Ever After by Kim Harrison

Ever After
Kim Harrison
The Hollows #11
Published 22 Jan 2013 by Harper Voyager
Urban fantasy
4 stars

The ever after, the demonic realm that parallels the human world, is shrinking. If it disappears completely, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to avert catastrophe and keep life from changing... for the worse.

While saving the world is important, it isn't Rachel's only motivation. There's also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place, setting off a chain reaction of unfortunate events. That little mistake has made her life forfeit unless she can fix it. It's also made her more than a few enemies, including the most powerful demon in the ever after—a terrifying entity who eats souls and now has an insatiable appetite for her. He's already kidnapped her friend and goddaughter to lure her out, and if Rachel doesn't give herself up soon, they'll die.

But Rachel has more than a few impressive and frightening skills of her own, and she isn't going to hand over her soul and her life without one hell of a fight. She's also got a surprise: elven tycoon Trent Kalamack. With this unlikely ally beside her—a prospect both thrilling and unnerving—she's going to return to the ever after, kick some demon butt, rescue her loved ones... and prevent an apocalypse before it's too late. Or, at least that's the plan...

Contains some inevitable spoilers for previous books in the series. Spoilers for Ever After are hidden and can be seen by highlighting the indicated text.

Bite-Sized Review
Although it had a few issues, Ever After was a highly enjoyable read and a good continuation of the series.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-They finally had to deal with the leaking ever after. That's been going on for about three books and it's about time they did something about it.

-Relationships in this series are always changing. I love that as the characters change, they don't just stay in the same roles; sometimes they grow apart, sometimes they grow closer, sometimes their opinions of people change. That's really one of the best things about this series.

-The pacing of this book was, for the most part, excellent. There was always something happening, some new escalation of the crisis, but it was all related, with virtually nothing extraneous or irrelevant. Even if I didn't know there were only two more books, it would be clear from the way things are starting to wrap up, which is good.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-Rachel has this incredibly annoying habit in the last couple books of thinking that she has to do something important, never actually doing it, and then thinking the same thing again 50 pages later, not as a reminder, but as if she hadn't already had the same thought 50 pages ago. I don't know if this is just sloppy editing or what, but it's getting increasingly irritating.

-Rachel also spends far too much time making her head Drama Central, thinking constantly about her feelings for Trent, her relationship with her friends, her relationship with her enemies, and so on. It's just too much. [highlight to view spoiler] I thought it was strange that, amidst all that, she spent surprisingly little time worried about Ceri and Lucy. Of course, she was concerned, but she seemed more worried about Bis than about her infant goddaughter. And she seems slightly confused as to which disasters are her fault and which aren't. It's like she gets them backwards.

-[highlight to view spoiler] I was not a fan of the very end of the book. If you can only declare your attraction for someone after drinking half a bottle of wine (and we've all heard "no really, I'm not drunk!" too many times in our lives to believe you), then you're clearly not ready for any kind of romantic relationship. That was not the way to have Trent and Rachel kiss for the first time in uncontested reality.

Recommended for
Fans of the series.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Excellent

Review | Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

Blackbirds
Chuck Wendig
Miriam Black #1
Published 2012 by Angry Robot
Urban fantasy
4 stars

Miriam Black knows when you will die.

She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides.

But when Miriam hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim.

No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.

It's really difficult to split this review into things I liked and things I didn't like, so I'm just going to talk without all the organization. Blackbirds was a unique, enthralling read. I could easily have finished it in one sitting, but then my brain would have exploded from disturbing-ness and we wouldn't want that. But the story and the characters were fascinating and even though it didn't end in a cliffhanger, I really want the next book.

Maybe it's because I don't read a lot of horror, but Blackbirds disturbed me in a way that no book has since I read about people being tortured on Catherine wheels when I was twelve. I'm not saying this was a bad thing, but it did mean I had to take breaks every few chapters.

A lot of the disturbing-ness was plain old gruesome violence. Blackbirds contains death, murder, torture, pain, and all sorts of savagery and it's written in a more significant way than what I normally read; there's no glossing over the mayhem here. Some of it is also how screwed-up the majority of the characters are. Again, not a bad thing -- the characters are well-written and interesting. They're just screwed up. Some of them are legitimately evil. Few are legitimately good. Mostly they're somewhere in between.

Part of the unusual impact of the grittier scenes comes from the fact that the book is written in third person present. While first person present is common in YA novels and third person past is probably the most common narrative style there is, I don't think I've ever seen third person present used for an entire book before. In most cases I would say it's a bad choice because the surprise of a different style can jar the reader out of the story (that's how I feel about 1st person present), but here it works really, really well. It reflects the way Miriam, the main character, thinks and it gives the story greater impact.

Miriam's ability, knowing how people will die when she touches them, is one I've actually seen once before, in Meg Cabot's Insatiable, but this story is so much darker (and better) that I could never compare the two. Having this knowledge and not being able to do anything about it is the main source of Miriam's issues, and I found her reaction very believable.

In this book, everyone had a story that explained why they were who they were. I think it gave the characters greater depth to know that the bad guys were bad guys for a reason. That led to a better plot and to a better book overall. Blackbirds was really excellent on so many levels, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's not squeamish.

Review | Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Midnight Riot (UK title Rivers of London)
Ben Aaronovitch
Rivers of London #1
Published 2011 by DelRay (Random House)
Urban fantasy
2 stars

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Bite-Sized Review
Despite a promising start, this book trudged through an unspectacular plot. I thought it had enough potential that I'll probably try the next book, but I won't get my hopes up.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-The world-building was good. I liked the difficulty Peter experienced learning magic, and the fact that most people liked to pretend the tiny division of the police devoted to the supernatural didn't exist. I especially enjoyed the personalities of London's rivers.

-Geeky references are always a plus. I caught Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, among other things. I am automatically inclined to like anyone who also likes those things, so that definitely put me in a good mood. Peter Grant was a likable sort of character.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
Full disclosure: I finished this book sometime around hour 11 of a 13 hour flight. I hate being stuck in one spot for more than an hour or so, and I don't sleep on planes, so at that point I was extremely uncomfortable as well as sleep-deprived, and therefore ready to murder anyone who looked at me sideways. Basically what I'm saying is: I wasn't a huge fan of the book, but while I don't think my situation at the time of reading was the total cause for my dislike -- I finished Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, which I loved, on the same plane ride -- it probably contributed.

-First, the whole plot lacked urgency until you already knew everything anyway. Peter displayed amazingly little concern for a series of murders, and seemed to dedicate very little devotion for any of the things he was supposed to be doing.

-Along with the lacking urgency, the whole story just seemed slow. Months passed without much of anything happening, just Peter learning magic and maybe a murder or two, about which, as I said, nobody really did anything. I was reading on my Kindle so I can't say for sure, but the book seemed a lot longer than the 298 pages Goodreads says it has.

-I did not find Midnight Riot anywhere near as funny as other reviewers seem to think it was. It had its moments, sure, but "funny" is by no means even in the first ten adjectives that come to mind when I think of this book. And before you say "Oh, you just don't get British humor," don't. I like British TV much, much better than American TV. I just don't think this book was that funny.

Recommended for
A lot of people have compared Rivers of London to the Dresden Files, but I think it's actually closer to Simon R. Green's Nightside series. I will grant that both of those series started a bit slow themselves, so maybe Midnight Riot is just going along with the trend.

Review | Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues
Diana Rowland
White Trash Zombie #2
Published 2012 by DAW (Penguin)
Contemporary science fantasy
4 stars

Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she’s beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that’s right—the zombie mafia.

Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel’s going to need all of her brainpower—and maybe a brain smoothie as well—in order to get through it without falling apart.

Bite-Sized Review
I started this series after enjoying Diana Rowland's other series, Kara Gillian, but at this point I'd say that White Trash Zombie is at least as good. This book, the second, has improved over the first, and I really like where the series is going. Definitely give My Life as a White Trash Zombie a try if you think you might be even remotely interested.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-I love that Angel continues to grow as a character in this book. It would have been easy for Diana Rowland to say, "Whelp, her life (as it were) doesn't suck anymore! Character development, check!" but she doesn't. Angel's new life was sort of handed to her, but in this book, she takes control of it, which makes her an easy character to root for.

-Blues has a lot more scientific explanation of zombies than the first book did. That may not appeal to everyone, especially since the imparting of this explanation was in the less-than-ideal form of an info dump, but I really like having more background than "everyone knows what zombies are, duh." As an added bonus, the science-y stuff actually made sense, although someone with more of a background in biology might disagree (or not, I really don't know).

-Even though there are a lot of parts that could be really gruesome, Diana Rowland deals with them in such a matter-of-fact way that it's easy to ignore all the brains, guts, brutal injuries, etc that crop up during the course of the novel. It's written in such a way that you could revel in the gooey viscera, but you don't have to.

-Despite the whole "zombie" plot, the casual tidbits about morgue work seem exceedingly authentic. Some quick googling that was totally not stalking reveals that Diana Rowland has been, among other things, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant, so clearly she knows what she's talking about. Not only is it cool to get a glimpse of "real"(ish--most police forces probably don't have to deal with mysterious zombie-related deaths) police work, having a realistic morgue/sheriff's office makes the "zombie" part of the story easier to swallow.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-Probably the only real issue I have with this series is how easy it seems for Angel to fix her life once she becomes a zombie. I think I would have found it more believable if she had made a few mistakes along the way.

Recommended for 
Fans of urban fantasy with a focus more on plot than romance. Though I would technically classify this series as science fiction, it feels more like urban fantasy. Give it a try if you like Stacia Kane, Carrie Vaughn, and Kalayna Price.

Review | Grave Memory by Kalayna Price

Grave Memory
Kalayna Price
Alex Craft #3
Published 2012 by Roc (Penguin)
Urban fantasy
3 stars

When the dead need to talk, Alex Craft is always ready to listen…

As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead—an ability that comes at a cost, and after her last few cases, that cost is compounding. But her magic isn’t the only thing causing havoc in her life. While she’s always been on friendly terms with Death himself, things have recently become a whole lot more close and personal. Then there’s her sometime partner, agent Falin Andrews, who is under the glamour of the Winter Queen. To top everything off, her best friend has been forever changed by her time spent captive in Faerie.

But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a mysterious suicide occurs in Nekros City and Alex is hired to investigate. The shade she raises has no memory of the days leading up to his brutal ending, so despite the very public apparent suicide, this is murder. But what kind of magic can overcome the human will to survive? And why does the shade lack the memory of his death? Searching for the answer might mean Alex won’t have a life to remember at all…

Bite-Sized Review
As a whole, I like this series a lot, but this book is not my favorite in the collection. The overarching storyline has stalled a bit, and there seemed to be more focus on the love triangle. However, the series is definitely worth reading, and if you've read the previous two books, you'll probably enjoy this one as well.

Chocolate

-With each book, Alex's life gets more complicated in a way that's a lot of fun for the reader. She continues to discover more about herself and her abilities, and while I'm not sure how long this can go on without becoming ridiculous, so far it intensifies what could otherwise be a run-of-the-mill supernatural PI story.

-The world is relatively straightforward, but I like it a lot. There's enough detail and conflict to make it seem real, and while there's less of an overarching world story than I really love, Kalayna Price does a great job adapting well-known myths and legends in a unique way. I especially appreciate the inclusion of serious magical limitations or consequences to magic.

Brussels Sprouts
-In this book, the love triangle seemed to be much more prominent than previously. This triangle doesn't bother me as much as many others because the focus is still definitely on the plot rather than the soap opera element, but I have to say, I preferred it when Alex didn't spend all her free time wondering what to do about her love life.

-This one could go either way depending on your preferences, but I'd like to see the books start to shift in plot toward fae politics and whatever Alex's father is up to. The supernatural PI schtick is a tried and true way to start a series, but doesn't necessarily take you very far. This series definitely has the potential to go beyond that, and I'd really like to see it get to that point. With this book, Alex's case seemed to get in the way of the meta-plot rather than advance it.

-I really enjoy these books, but sometimes Alex can be incredibly annoying. She's terrible at making decisions, as demonstrated by the previously mentioned love triangle, so reading her internal monologue can be a torturous exercise in vacillation. Don't get me wrong, I don't actually dislike her, but sometimes...

Recommended for
Urban fantasy fans generally.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Acceptable

Review | The City's Son by Tom Pollock

The City's Son
Tom Pollock
The Skyscraper Throne #1
Published September 2012 by Flux (Llewellyn)
YA urban fantasy
4 stars

Running from her traitorous best friend and her estranged father, graffiti artist Beth Bradley is looking for sanctuary. What she finds is Urchin, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London’s mystical underworld. Urchin opens Beth’s eyes to the city she’s never truly seen-where vast spiders crawl telephone wires seeking voices to steal, railwraiths escape their tethers, and statues conceal an ancient priesthood robed in bronze.

But it all teeters on the brink of destruction. Amid rumors that Urchin’s goddess mother will soon return from her 15-year exile, Reach, a malign god of urban decay, wants the young prince dead. Helping Urchin raise an alleyway army to reclaim his skyscraper throne, Beth soon forgets her old life. But when her best friend is captured, Beth must choose between this wondrous existence and the life she left behind.

Bite-Sized Review
The City's Son was a well-written book with an absolutely brilliant concept. I loved it, and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

Chocolate
-The best thing about this book was the unique and amazing premise. Basically, the city of London is alive in a very literal sense -- streetlamps, statues, trains, cranes, all come to life and interact with the son of the city's goddess. It's something I've never seen before, and I really loved it.

-This is a very well-written book -- some of the prose is just beautiful. It's also well organized. Point of view switches mainly between two characters, Beth and Filius Viae. Beth's perspective (as well as that of the secondary characters) is in third person past, while Fil's is first person present, making distinguishing between them very simple.

-I loved that this didn't feel like a typical YA book. The romance is very understated and not just a whole bunch of pent-up lust. The characters have depth and credibility. The danger is real and intense.

Brussels Sprouts
-The book got off to a little bit of a slow start, but honestly, that's not really a complaint. I just had to put something here.

Recommended for
Fans of Charles de Lint and China Miéville, or anyone who thinks a living city and a war between its gods sounds interesting and who doesn't need everything laid out for them.

Review | Greywalker by Kat Richardson

Greywalker
Kat Richardson
Greywalker #1
Published 2006 by Roc (Penguin)
Urban fantasy
2.5 stars

When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.

Bite-Sized Review

Greywaker was a decent read and a reasonable start to the series, but there wasn't much particularly memorable about it. However, it's pretty common for the first book in an urban fantasy series to be mediocre, so I'm curious enough to see what happens next.

Chocolate

-Being sensitive to the world of magic, the Grey, if you die is an interesting idea. It's not a story, but it's a cool aspect that helps explains why not everyone sees all the weird stuff going on.

-The "supernatural private investigator" angle is used so often because it works. No struggling to understand why the main character is involved with the problem of the week -- it's her job.

-Harper can take care of herself. I am really sick of female characters (especially in YA) who react to danger like Buttercup in the Fire Swamp (stand there and scream), so having a character who can investigate cases and come up with solutions is always a good start.

-I want to try the rest of this series. It has potential, and while that potential isn't fully realized in this book, I think it could be later on. It's a start.

Brussels Sprouts

-Greywalker had several different plot threads, which can go either well or badly depending on the author. Here I'm inclined to put it on the minus side, because while I love complexity, it didn't really seem organized. 

-I didn't feel much of a connection to Harper. The book is written in first person, but we don't really get much of Harper's thoughts other than confusion and frustration at her new abilities. While that's understandable, since she was thrown into this world with no idea it even existed, I hope that she's a little more open in later books.

-There wasn't much romance in this book, which was totally fine with me, but what was there was lukewarm at best. I just wasn't feeling it, which may sort of go back to my earlier point about not connecting with Harper.

-For a book that takes place in Seattle in 2006, the technology used is archaic. Harper has dial-up internet and a pager, and she doesn't seem to have a cell phone. She also has to call or visit people to find information that seems like it could be easily located with a simple Google search. I realize that books are often years in production, depending on the author, but really? Dial-up?

Recommended for

Fans of urban fantasy PI series like Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files and Seanan McGuire's October Daye, who don't mind slow starts and minimal early romance. At least, if the series gets better after this.

Longtime readers may noticed that I've changed up the review format a bit. I'd love any feedback on that as well as the actual review -- is everything clear? Do you like it? Is there more you want to know? I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Review | Steel's Edge by Ilona Andrews

Steel's Edge
Ilona Andrews
The Edge #4
Parallel world romantic fantasy
Bought (Kindle)
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Steel's Edge is just as spellbinding as Ilona Andrews' other works. This book has everything: fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, monsters, chases, escapes, true love...

King-Sized Review
This book, and the series as a whole, are exceptionally difficult to classify. Let's just say they're fantasy that takes place across worlds with (the Weird and the Edge) and without (the Broken) magic, and they have a strong element of romance. In this final installment, Baroness Charlotte de Ney, a rare Healer, and Richard Mar, a swordsman, hunt down slavers in the Weird in an adventure that turns out to be much more than they expected.

Steel's Edge involves many characters from the previous books, but is more separate than many series conclusions. It takes place almost entirely in the Weird, with much more interaction with the nobility of Adrianglia than the previous books. Spider, the main villain in Bayou Moon and Fate's Edge, is surprisingly incidental to this story, but there is plenty of excitement to make up for it. Taking out the slavers involves lots of death, destruction, and horror, so it's really not a light read.

As if to compensate, Richard and Charlotte have perhaps the sweetest love story of the series. In a lot of "romance" novels (which isn't actually what I'd call this book, but we'll go with it for now), lust and love seem to get a little confused; you never hear the end of how attractive each character thinks the other is and how much they want to jump each others' bones, but fill-in-the-blank obstacle gets in the way. In this book, though, despite Charlotte and Richard's obvious attraction, it's really clear that they care deeply for one another.

One of the best parts of Ilona Andrews' writing in general is their attention to motivation. Every character acts in character all the time, and even the bad guys' decisions make sense, from an amoral standpoint. It's wonderful to read a book where the logic behind the Big Bad isn't "evil person is evil," something that happens depressingly often.

To me, this book is an excellent blend of romance and adventure. There's plenty happening all the time, so the romance doesn't get boring, and the adventure is dark enough that the romance is a welcome relief. I will pick up any book in this series again if I want something that is both exciting and sweet, and I highly recommend that you do too!

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

Review | Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Iced
Karen Marie Moning
Dani O'Malley #1
Urban fantasy
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review

Iced was an enjoyable book despite heaping on lust like it was candy on Halloween. Don't expect it to be Fever, but it does have KMM's characteristic engaging writing style and many of the same interesting characters I loved in the Fever series. And please note that even though Dani is fourteen, this book should definitely not be categorized as YA.

King-Sized Review

Well. I was, like many other people, a huge fan of the Fever series and both excited and apprehensive about the release of Iced. Excited because, more Fever! And apprehensive because a) Dani was kind of an annoying narrator whenever she seized the reins in Fever, and b) since she's fourteen, any romantic under-, over-, or just general tones come off as icky.

It was both better and worse than I thought it would be. Yes, there were times when Dani was an annoying idiot. She thinks she's very smart, and she is, but she's still fourteen, which makes her sort of automatically an idiot. It could, therefore, be argued that her obnoxiousness added realism to the story, but I'm not sure the realism was worth having to deal with all the crap, not to mention the number of times she uses the word "dude". Luckily, Dani is also funny and learning about her is interesting because she doesn't share well.

Let's take a look at the plot. Iced takes place pretty much right after the end of Shadowfever, so if you haven't read that, don't read the rest of this review.

Okay. I'm going to assume all the infidels are gone now and keep talking. The Unseelie King is off somewhere with the concubine/Aoibheal, Cruce/the Sinsar Dubh is frozen in a block of ice under the abbey, and Faery has merged with our world, resulting in lots of deaths and Interdimensional Fairy Potholes. Most of the action takes place in Dublin, centered at Chester's, Ryodan's weird club/fae hunting grounds. There's conflict between Dani and Ryodan as he tries to mold her into his future...what would you call it? A mate? See, kind of icky. Most of this molding occurs around a series of strangely frozen locations as everyone tries to solve the mystery of the "iced" places.

A lot of what made Fever a really interesting series was not knowing anything about a single thing that was going on, and then learning more and knowing even less. Iced tries to recapture some of that mystique with the question of who or what is causing these strange temperature fluctuations, but as the phrase "temperature fluctuations" suggests, it's not quite as captivating.

And don't make the mistake of thinking that because Dani is fourteen, this is a YA book. There's waaaayyyy too much time spent on sex. Dani has not one, not two, but three men hovering, waiting for her to grow up a bit so their intentions become a little less creepy. I could definitely have skipped the sections from Christian's perspective, since they were overly angsty and I already knew he was seriously losing it. All he thinks about is getting Dani, along with a little bit of killing Ryodan, which got tiresome really quickly.

The book also included a few peeks into the mind of Kat, now the de facto Grand Mistress of the sidhe-seers. These were more or less unrelated to the main plot and would have been a welcome relief from all the male posturing going on in Dublin, except that they were all about Cruce and how unbelievably hot he was. Basically, the sex was so overdone it just sort of shriveled up into this grayish strip of burned meat. And the main character never even got any (fortunately).

But other than that, I enjoyed the book. KMM has an especially enthralling writing style that works in Iced about as well as in the rest of her books. I think that even though I wasn't expecting Iced to be as good as Fever, I was still a little disappointed when I was right. It really is a good read for a Fever fan, though. It's just not Fever.

Waiting on Wednesday | Grave Memory by Kalayna Price

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Grave Memory

Kalayna Price

Alex Craft #3

Expected publication: July 3, 2012 by Roc (Penguin)

As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead—an ability that comes at a cost, and after her last few cases, that cost is compounding. But her magic isn’t the only thing causing havoc in her life. While she’s always been on friendly terms with Death himself, things have recently become a whole lot more close and personal. Then there’s her sometime partner, agent Falin Andrews, who is under the glamour of the Winter Queen. To top everything off, her best friend has been forever changed by her time spent captive in Faerie.

But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a mysterious suicide occurs in Nekros City and Alex is hired to investigate. The shade she raises has no memory of the days leading up to his brutal ending, so despite the very public apparent suicide, this is murder. But what kind of magic can overcome the human will to survive? And why does the shade lack the memory of his death? Searching for the answer might mean Alex won’t have a life to remember at all…

I really enjoyed Grave Witch, and Grave Dance was even better, so I can't wait to see where Kalayna Price takes this story in book 3! Alex is a great character, and I love the world these books are set in.

Review | Dark Magic by James Swain

Dark Magic
James Swain
Published May 22, 2012 by Tom Doherty Associates (Macmillan)
Mystery/urban fantasy
1 star
eARC from NetGalley

Bite-Sized Review
Dark Magic had a reasonably interesting premise, but in the execution it turned out to be just...boring.

King-Sized Review
Peter Warren is a famous stage magician by day, but by night he's a real psychic, the leader of a group of similarly talented people who try to protect the city of New York by looking into the future to see upcoming threats. However, when they see an attack that threatens millions of lives, Peter finds himself more directly involved than he ever planned.

I've had such a hard time writing this review. As you can tell, it wasn't really my cup of tea; it wasn't terribly written or anything, but because of a combination of factors, I had a really hard time finishing it.

First, the characters. Every one of them was dull and one-dimensional. People kept talking about Peter's temper and how dangerous he could be when he was angry, but I never saw any hint of that from him. He was utterly bland: friendly, generous, meticulous, probably a nice guy to know in real life, but not a very interesting character. He could have been Batman! He had the obscenely wealthy, parents murdered, trying to fight crime story going for him. And I guess you could say he was like Batman, except Adam West's Batman from the really cheesy live-action TV show from the 60s rather than Christian Bale's gritty, fascinating modern version. And the book wasn't self-aware enough to parody itself like the TV show did.

None of the other characters was any more interesting. The female characters were just absurd. They were shallow and useless, definitely Too Stupid to Live. Peter's girlfriend couldn't stick to a decision to save her life, and changed her mind about being with him at least twice for no apparent reason. But of course, being a wonderful and forgiving person, he forgave her immediately. I could say more, but since I'm starting to sound sarcastic, I should probably stop there.

The book was written more like a mystery than an urban fantasy. It's kind of a hard distinction to define, but as I'm not a fan of mysteries in general, that quality did not endear the story to me. There was no internal conflict, which I find crucial to a story, and the main storyline really seemed to plod along. The good guys were paragons of virtue, while the bad guys were evil incarnate. There was no suspense because there was never any question of how things were going to end, and I didn't care enough about any of the characters to be concerned that they might die. Basically, it really wasn't for me.

Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Troll

Review | Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent

Shadow Bound
Rachel Vincent
Unbound #2
Published May 22, 2012
Urban fantasy
Review copy from NetGalley
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Wow. Shadow Bound was somehow even better than Blood Bound despite having completely different protagonists. If you haven't read these books yet, you really, really should.

King-Sized Review
Blood Bound did not end well for Kori Daniels. After weeks trapped in the Tower syndicate basement, unable to walk the shadows wherever she wants to go, Kori is given a last chance. She must recruit Ian Holt, a Blinder of unparalleled power, to the syndicate. Or else.

Ian has no intention of joining the syndicate. He accepted Jake Tower's invitation for one reason only: to save his brother's life. Unfortunately, as he falls for Kori, that means he'll have to choose between her and his brother.

Shadow Bound was intense. Raw, gritty, and powerful, it showed a side of the syndicates even darker than that in Blood Bound. Criminal organizations with a virtual monopoly on Skilled individuals, the syndicates make old time Chicago look like Disneyland. Putting some pretty spectacular characters aside, one of the best things about this series is its dark underworld and the many different ways its inhabitants react to the choices this world presents them.

With that in mind, Kori might actually be a new favorite character. She has a quick temper, drinks vodka straight from the bottle, punches people when she's angry, and curses like a sailor. She's also unbelievably tough and cares more about her sister than anyone in the world.

The other characters were also stellar (in the sense that they were very well written, because Jake Tower was an evil SOB). Ian complemented Kori well, though his chapters weren't as intense as Kori's. I do wish we had seen a bit more of Liv and Cam, because I loved them in the last book, but I was so absorbed in everything else going on that I almost forgot about them.

Shadow Bound was an amazing book that I highly recommend to any and all urban fantasy fans. So when does the next book come out again?

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Outstanding

PNR or UF?
GARS Score: 1.14 (4/4/4/3) - more UF


In the same aisle
On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane
Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

Review | Tricked by Kevin Hearne

Tricked
Kevin Hearne
Iron Druid Chronicles #4
Published April 24, 2012 by Random House
Urban fantasy
Review copy from NetGalley
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
In the tradition of the previous three books, Tricked is funny, clever, and exciting, with cameos from a wide range of pantheons and lots of trouble. If you enjoyed the rest of the series, you'll love Tricked.

King-Sized Review
**Warning: spoilers for book 1-3 ahead**
Tricked starts off shortly after the end of Hammered, with Atticus's plan to die so that the other thunder gods, who want revenge after Atticus and company killed Thor, won't hunt him down. The deal with Coyote that it takes to achieve this contradictory goal requires Atticus to do Coyote a favor, an agreement that, naturally, turns out to be much more problematic than our favorite Druid bargained for.

Tricked reminded me of just how much I love the characters in this series. Especially Oberon. His obsession with food, entertainingly literal interpretation of idioms, and general dog-like behavior are entertaining and endearing. I was thrilled to see that he was back after being mostly missing from Hammered.

Tricked stuck to the Iron Druid style of humor and action. I particularly enjoyed the incorporation of Native American mythology, which isn't seen terribly often (though Druids are pretty rare too – double win). There's not much romance here, but I personally find that a nice break from relationship drama in other books. All in all a great addition to the Iron Druid Chronicles.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

GARS score: 1.5 (2/4/2/2)
What's a GARS score?

In the same aisle
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Waiting on Wednesday | Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Shadow Bound

Rachel Vincent

Unbound #2

Expected publication: May 22, 2012

Mira (Harlequin)

KORI DANIELS is a shadow-walker, able to travel instantly from one shadow to another. After weeks of confinement for betraying her boss, she’s ready to break free of the Tower syndicate for good. But Jake Tower has one final job for Kori, one chance to secure freedom for herself and her sister, Kenley, even if that means taking it from someone else…

The job? Recruit Ian Holt—or kill him.

Ian’s ability to manipulate the dark has drawn interest from every syndicate in the world, most notably an invitation from Jake Tower. Though he has no interest in organized crime, Ian accepts the invite, because he’s on a mission of his own. Ian has come to kill Tower’s top Binder: Kori’s little sister.

Amid the tangle of lies, an unexpected thread of truth connecting Ian and Kori comes to light. But with opposing goals, they’ll have to choose between love and liberty….

I loved Blood Bound and even though I'm a little sad that this book isn't from Liv and Cam's perspectives, I'm excited to learn more about Kori and how she got where she is. Plus, the world is just amazing, and I'm sure there's more to learn! 

Review | Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

Unholy Ghosts
Stacia Kane
Downside Ghosts #1
Published 2010 by Del Rey (Random House)
Urban fantasy
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Unholy Ghosts is a compelling start to a dark urban fantasy. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something on the grittier side.

King-Sized Review
Churchwitch Chess Putnam has a secret. A Debunker for the Church of Real Truth, she investigates hauntings, exposing the fakes and banishing real ghosts. She's definitely not supposed to be in debt to a powerful drug lord, so when he offers her the option of trading an off-the-books investigation for a debt she doesn't have the money to pay, she doesn't have any choice but to look into his case. Unfortunately she finds quite a bit more than she bargained for.

Unholy Ghosts starts with a fascinating world. After the dead broke free of their City and wreaked havoc on the living world, killing thousands. the Church of Real Truth rose to power, disdaining the old religions and using powerful magic to banish ghosts. Now the Church rules through the strength of its witches in holding back the dead. Usually post-magical awakening worlds look either very similar to ours or are without a central power, so it was interesting to read about a different structure, particularly one as interesting as this one.

I was surprised to find this book written in third person – the trend is for urban fantasy to be in first and paranormal romance in third – but although Unholy Ghosts leans heavily on the urban fantasy side, third person works. Chess isn't the type to reveal many of her innermost thoughts. She has a seriously screwed-up past that gains her sympathy despite the gratuitous drug use. At first this aspect of Chess's character was annoying, but as I learned more about Chess and her history, it became a little more understandable. Plus, Chess has a lot of room to grow; I can already tell that the character development in this series is going to be stellar, though it hasn't gotten far yet.

Chess is surrounded by an intriguing cast of characters. Terrible, drug lord Bump's enforcer, turned out to be a surprisingly excellent character, something I would never have guessed at first glance. I'm eager to learn more about him as well as to see more of his and Chess's interactions. Bump's rival drug mogul Lex was Bump's urbane opposite, suave and controlled where Bump was erratic and a little crazy. The Church played a fairly minor role in this book, at least considering its influence, so I'm looking forward to finding out more about its members.

I can't wait to check out the rest of the books in this series. Unholy Ghosts is a highly promising start to what should be a great series.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

PNR or UF?
GARS score: 1.4 (3/4/2/3)
What's a GARS score?

In the same aisle
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Grave Witch by Kalayna Price