Dragonswan, Sherrilyn Kenyon

So, this is the next instalment of the Dark Hunter series...and the series hasn't even officially started yet!!

So this is listed as "0.5." It's another prequel in the series, though it does seem to give more info on the substance of the series.

So we meet Channon and Sebastian at a museum where they're both admiring a tapestry. They go to dinner and instantly hit it off. They share an intended one night stand, but Sebastian finds he's been mated.

Oh, did I mention he's a dragon? ;)

So, Sebastian is a were-hunter. Weres, or shifters, were created as a way around a curse. I think. I was a little confused. Regardless, their creator had 2 sons. He wanted to save them, so through alchemy he spliced them with animals. Only, as such things normally do, it didn't go quite according to plan. It split the 2 boys, creating 4 - 2 with the heart of a human and the abilities of animals, 2 with the hearts of animals and abilities of humans.

If that's not clear, think of it this way: humans that can become animals and animals that can become human.

With the power to travel in time.

A little scary.

Shadow of Night, Deborah Harkness

OMG!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE INDEFINITELY!!! THERE'S NOT EVEN A RELEASE DATE YET! OR A TITLE! WTF am I going to do?!?! *whine*

Obviously, I liked it. And I was devastated when I finished that I have to wait an indefinite amount of time. In fact, all my other books looked boring - all I wanted to read was book 3.

To catch up anyone who hasn't read my review for the first book, A Discovery of Witches and this one are part of the All Souls Trilogy. I'm not surprised at all this book won the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Paranormal Fantasy.

At the end of the first book, witch Diana and vampire Matthew escape into the past in an attempt to find a teacher for Diana and keep the council, the group that ensures the agreement keeping the species/races separate is kept, from attacking again. This book starts as Diana and Matthew...land(?) in 1590.

Matthew is Matthew Roydon, an actual historical figure little is known about, and is friends with many other historical figures such as Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe, known as Kit. Kit is actually not a fan of Diana. He's jealous of her really, as Matthew loves her, not Kit. Most of these friends, including those I just mentioned, are part of the School of Night. Through the book, Diana, a historian, gets to meet many other figures Rabbi Loew, Queen Elizabeth, even Emperor Rudolf.

City of Dark Magic, Magnus Flyte

"This deliciously madcap novel has it all: murder in Prague, time travel, a misanthropic Beethoven, tantric sex, and a dwarf with an attitude." – Conan O'Brien

While I probably wouldn't have put it quite that way, I cannot disagree: this book was fantastic! It had everything: Boston, Prague, music, spies, murder, politics, traitors, love, sex, jealousy, alchemy, science, royalty, communists, Nazis, and, yes, time travel (though, it's a bit of a misnomer). I've always been of the mind that a so-so plot with really good characters can make a really good story, and a really good plot with bad characters can make a pretty shitty story. This book has both: great characters immersed in a great plot.