Dark Secret, Christine Feehan

This is the 2nd story in Darkest at Dawn, which has Dark Hunger (14) and Dark Secret (15).

We meet another of the De la Cruz brothers, actually we meet 2, but Nicolas is only around for a few pages. The main brother is Rafael, and he is the first Carpathian I really don't like. All Carpathian men are arrogant and domineering to an extent, but Rafael? He's just an ass. Riordan mentions in Dark Hunger that the brothers have always been more Carpathian than other Carpathians. Stronger, smarter, more arrogant and domineering.

He is really all about having everything his own way.

His lifemate is Colby. She's a cowgirl. No shit. A cowgirl. She also has the same last name as Gary from Dark Magic. We don't learn anything about that really, but I feel like it can't be a mistake/coincidence.

They meet because Rafael and Nicolas go to Colby's ranch to convince her to come to Brazil with her brother and sister, Paul and Ginny. See, the De la Cruz family has a human family they're close with. The Chavez family knows they're Carpathian and have been working with the brothers for centuries.

The stories a little complicated...

Criminal, Karin Slaughter

O. M. G!!

This was fantastic!

We finally get to learn more about Will's past.

So, Will and Sara are still going strong. Unfortunately, he spirals into despair when he finds out his father was released from prison.

We know is father killed his mother, but not much else.

Actually, there's another reason this is an awesome book: not only do we learn more about Will's past, we learn more about Amanda's.

Now, in Fallen, Faith's mom tells Will that Amanda is more like his mom that he thinks. As soon as she said that, I figured Amanda had found him when he was a baby. Still, now we get to see the whole story play out.

So, as much as I love that we learn about Will's origins, I love that we get to see young an naive Amanda.

Yes, Amanda was naive. Sheltered even.

Fallen, Karin Slaughter

I love this one! This series just gets better and better.

So, we learn a lot about Faith, her mom, and her mom's past. Remember I mentioned Will investigated Faith's mom? Well, now we get some answers.

So, Faith had her baby. I don't think I mentioned she was preggers, but she was. Like her first child, this was an oops baby. The father doesn't even know about the baby until this book. Kinda a shocker for him since they'd broken up before Faith even knew she was pregnant. She also found out she had diabetes at the same time.

So, Faith's life has been pretty all over lately.

Now, she's just had her baby and is returning home from mandated work training when she realizes something is wrong: her mom isn't answering any of her phone calls.

She finally makes it home in time to find one dead, one hostage, one with a gun, but no mom. Her mom managed to get the baby into the locked shed where her weapons are kept, but other than that, there's no sign of her mother.

Faith calls 911, but storms the house herself and kills the remaining two baddies. And despite one being a hostage, they are both baddies.

So, we start with some harcore Rambo shit from Faith.

After that it gets a bit more complicated.

Fractured, Karin Slaughter

Will Trent is back - and Angie is living with him.

She left the force after getting hurt in Triptych, and they're engaged.

Gave me false hope, damn it. They're still a disaster. An engaged disaster, but a disaster never-the-less.

We also meet Faith.

I'm a fan of Faith.

Faith is not a fan of Will.

See, Will's last assignment was to root out corruption and he came across Faith's mother in the process, who was then forced to resign.

So, yeah. Faith + Will = Tension!

And they're working a missing persons case. She's the partner of Leo, the guy who was the partner of the cop from Triptych. When Will realizes they're not at a murder scene, but a kidnapping scene, Leo gets kicked off the case and in trouble for missing the clues, and Faith gets partnered with Will.

Blindsighted, Karin Slaughter

It's series time again! This is actually a recommendation from a friend, and boy! was she right on.

I've been feeling like a binge read for a while now, and when the new Karin Slaughter came out, my friend was obsessed. So, when it was time to pick a new read, I thought I'd give the Grant County series a shot so I can catch up.

I completely understand her obsession now!

So, this is obviously book one. It's a mystery/thriller series taking place in Grant County, GA (Hey, that's the name of the series, too!!) where coroner and pediatrician, Sara, and her ex-husband and police chief, Jeffery, live and fight crime (couldn't help myself). Now, there is a...reconciliation brewing, but don't let that trick you into thinking this was a romance. It's all mystery/thriller. (Though I did call the killer right from his first appearance. :D booyah!)

So, the shit hits the fan when Sara comes across the body of a local woman in the bathroom. She's been stabbed and raped, and despite Sara's best efforts, she dies. To make things more difficult, the victims sister, Lena, is on the force. Jeffery's partner actually.

Now, as I said: Not a romance. But I do have to go over that part of the plot because it feeds into the murders (yup, the woman in the bathroom was just the beginning).

Except the Queen, Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder

I love this.

It's really good. And really different from the way I think most fantasy is structured.

The main characters are Sparrow and Robin, but unlike most fantasies, it's all told from the point of view of two sisters who stumble into Sparrow and Robins life.

Let me back up here...

Serena and Meteora are sisters and fairies. The catch the Queen in a *ahem* compromising position - she's gettin' busy with a mortal. The manage to keep the secret for a while, but eventually Meteora spills the beans. By accident, sure, but she's always struggled with keeping it a secret anyway.

The Queen finds out who "sullied" her name, and banishes the sisters to the mortal world. Serena to NYC and Meteora to Milwaukee. Their journeys bring them in contact with the main characters. Serena meets Robin while his band is playing in the park. Meteora lives in Baba Yaga's house with Sparrow.

Sparrow is an emo chick who's had a really rough life. She only vaguely remembers her mother and her father was abusive in every sense of the word. She's been on the run ever since - she knows she's different.

Robin is (obviously) a musician. Unfortunately for him, he knows exactly who his parents are. He loved him mom, who was raped and destroyed by this father, Red Cap. If you're unfamiliar with Red Cap, he kills innocents and soaks his cap in their blood, making it a red cap. He's part of the Unseelie Court. Robin isn't, he's not deemed worthy. His father treats him as a dog. Literally.

A Nose for Justice, Rita Mae Brown

So, this was a bargain buy and I was going out of my comfort zone. If it wasn't $3, I probably wouldn't have gotten it. And that would have been ok. I'm not saying it was bad, but it wasn't good. Kind of boring.

So, it's copyrighted for 2010, and I feel like that makes a bit of a difference. It was very political. I'm of the opinion that all stories have meaning - the author can't not put a bit of themselves and/or their views into their stories. So, I'm not surprised to find a bit of politics or religion or anything else in books the I read. Frankly, I think it makes it better. More relatable. But this was overtly, intentionally political. And I don't feel like that made it better. Not worse either, but not better. It didn't add anything of value.

On a higher note, the dogs were adorable. They play an important role and the reader understands what they're saying, so that adds some fun.

Other than that...I just don't have much to say. There are some explosions, the baddie trying to freak everyone else out about water. There's a lot about water and water rights. And a Russian from the late 1800s is found when they're remodeling a barn. There's no connection between the 2. And don't let the book fool you when it says there's a "fascinating connection" between the body, Buffalo Bill, and the ranch. There isn't.

There's a love story between the main character Mags and the Deputy Sheriff. It, like the rest of the story, is just blah, ho-hum, mundane. However you want to word it. Mags is a former Wall Streeter who lost everything in the crash. The Deputy is a divorce who loves Reno. *shrug* Mags being a good Wall Streeter is about the only interesting aspect.

Well, her aunt is occasionally badass, and I appreciate the feminist aspects the story uses. But overall, this was just a forgettable book. And, really, isn't that worse than being bad?

A Nose for Justice, Rita Mae Brown

Kiss the Dead, Laurell K. Hamilton

So, it's still Read a Romance month, so next up is some hot and steamy Anita Blake.

However....it wasn't one of my favorites. The plot was just kind of...lacking. Wah wah. Basically, a group of vampires want to be" free." Unfortunately, their methods for doing that are to kidnap a minor and then martyr themselves (aka suicide by cop - or executioner, in this case). The have a leader, a master, but they haven't blood oathed. Somehow the master misses the part where he can influence lesser vamps without a blood oath.

So, when they're around him, he can keep them on board with his plan for peaceful dissent. Unfortunately, when he's not around, his mojo wears off and they decide being martyrs and killing cops is the better plan.

Sigh.

Antia ends up setting them straight. That's basically the entire book plot wise.

Now, relationship wise, there was much more.

Darkness Bread, Stella Cameron

So, after I finished Shadow of Night, I had to pick a book to distract me. I happened to be on vacation, so my choices were limited. As I said in the review of Shadow of Night, all I wanted to read was the third book of that series. I didn't have that, so I chose this one.

I'm repeating all this because this book had an uphill battle. This is a book from the Chimney Rock series which focuses on a pack of werehounds. The werehounds have been dying out, along with all the other shifters. The females are dying during pregnancy with their children. The first book of the series, Darkness Bound, explains all this. I read it pre-blog, so it's not reviewed, but the basic idea is the leader of the pack, Niles meets and falls for his mate, Leigh. Sean, the main character of this story is Niles' second in command and plays a large part in protecting Leigh. We discover Leigh is a particular race that is thought to have no magical abilities, but actually just has very rare ones. The idea is that these rare abilities would allow them to carry children for the werehounds (don't worry, I'll come back to this one in Feminist Corner).

During the first book, we also meet Silkywidden, a mysterious cat. Well, she is also a shifter, and part of the same race as Leigh. She and Sean have fallen in love while acting as go betweens for Leigh and Niles in the first book. This book starts with the necessity for a decision: Can Sean and Elin (Silkywidden) be together? Niles is concerned because Elin is fey. She's not, but she's not telling anyone that because she wants to make sure Sean wants her, not just her possible reproductive abilities (again, I'll come back to this, patience). See, Elin was kidnapped as a baby and raised by the fey Queen. Niles is worried Elin is a spy for the Queen - and to be fair, the Queen does want her to do that. She's refused. Leigh already suspects Elin's true origins, and she sees the love between the two, so he's firmly on their side. Niles is harder to convince. In the first book, they encounter a traitor among the hounds, this seems to put them all in a distrusting mood.

Twilight's Dawn, Anne Bishop

Another Anne Bishop, so you already know I liked it.

This is a collection of 4 short stories from the Black Jewels Series. This world is a flip flop of what you typically find for fantasy imagery. The Darkness is good - in fact the darker something is, the better. Gender roles are turned on their head. Men have to protect their virtue and reputation. Women rule and men bow to their wishes - for the most part - and are happily sexually liberated. Unfortunately, men are also more vulnerable to sexual predators. The characters are named Lucivar, Daemon, and Saeten, High Lord of Hell. They're also the good guys.

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.

Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick

This book should be a how to book: How to Have Unhealthy Relationships and Make Bad Decisions.

I mean, these kids are six-fucking-teen!!! Maybe, maybe, if they were at least freshman in college, instead of sophomores in high schooll, it would have been better. Still bad, but better. I mean, Patch is this physically and sexually intimidating pedophile, for the love of God! He may look like a high schooler, but he's been a fallen angel since the 1500s!

OK, deep breath. Keep it together, Michelle. Let me back up and explain the book before I go on a rant.

So, this is the first book in a quartet about young love, a la Twilight. Let me make sure I'm clear here: I have never read Twilight. I have never seen the movies. I can only take my information from conversations I've had with those who have seen or read these stories. As opposed to Twilight's vampire leading man, the main male character, Patch, is a fallen angel. Hear that again: A fallen angel. An angel that God had such an issue with that He cast the angel out. And what did Patch get cast out for? Lust. Yup, the angel cast out for lust is now after a 16 year old girl, Nora.

Anita Blake in Review

You're only as much monster as you choose to be.

That seems to be the theme of the Anita Blake Series. The series isn't over, of course, but I'm waiting for the next few. Kiss the Dead will be out in paperback at the end of May, and Affliction is coming out in hardcover this year. I just don't do hardcover. So, I'll have to wait for more of the series.

There are some halves out now. Strange Candy is a collection of short stories by various authors; as are Cravings and Bite. Strange Candy is what Anita Blake without the Vampire Hunter might have been like. It's short and fairly...limp. It's not boring, but it's not really great either. Good thing Hamilton added the Vampire Hunter part. I wouldn't really recommend their purchase, unless you're a) into the other authors or b) really love short stories. Well, the Anita Blake story in Cravings is just the beginning of Incubus Dreams, about Larry's wedding, so...  Bite is it's own story, and takes place between Blue Moon and Obsidian Butterfly, when Anita is still trying to distance herself, and falls off the wagon after seeing Jean-Claude, but for me it wasn't worth the purchase. Finally, Beauty, which can be purchased as an ebook and comes between Hit List and Kiss the Dead. It's basically just a sex scene between Anita, Jean-Claude and Asher.

So, for me, the series is over for the moment. Therefore, I thought I'd talk about the series in general: pros, cons, and thoughts.

Hit List, Laurell K. Hamilton

Weretigers are being murdered all over the country. Anita and Edward are on the case. We join them in Tacoma, Washington. They know who, the bad Harlequin. The know why, to get rid of all the gold tigers and trap Anita for Mommie Dearest, the mother of all vampires. This is the longest Anita's been away from her family (her men and the rest of their people - shifters and vamps). She's even gone days without feeding the ardeur.

My favorite thing, and I acknowledge it's a small thing, is that they finally call her polyamorous! I've been saying it since The Killing Dance!! Edward brings it to Anita's attention, and of course she's still a little prude and reacts as such. :) Love it.

Skin Trade, Laurell K. Hamilton

Remember those vampires in Incubus Dreams killing the strippers? Remember how they got away? Not this time, beotch!

Anita is back on the case and headed (no pun intended – wait for it…) to Las Vegas. She heads (keep waiting…) to Vegas after receiving a severed head in the mail (NOW you get it) postmarked Vegas. She calls the cops there and it turns out the head belongs to a cop that was killed by the vamps during the attempt to execute them. A few cops died, but more have gone into a mysterious sleep. Not a coma, they're asleep and can't be woken. I'll give you three guesses as to how they're supposed to be woken up........Did you guess? That's right, sleeping beauty, Love's Kiss. No. Really. It doesn't have to be romantic love, just love. One victim doesn't have any family, so his dog does the trick. Adorable, right?

Blood Noir, Laurell K. Hamilton

I loved this book! Ok, so we're still leaning toward the more relationship oriented story lines, but this book is what I will forever consider Jason's Book. It's still from Anita's point of view, but it's all about Jason and his family.

Jason gets dumped, which he's not too sad about, the same day as he finds out his father, who he's estranged from, is dying of cancer and only has weeks left. Anita gets talked into coming home with him as his girlfriend to prove to his father that he's not gay. Hamilton treats this fairly carefully, I think. She makes clear, through Jason, that it's not his family thinking he's gay that bothers him, but that they don't believe him. His dad was abusive in many ways and always treated Jason like he wasn't a good enough son.

Jason is Anita's friend with benefits. They use the term fuck buddies, but I think friends with benefits is more accurate. It's the only friends with benefits relationship that has ever actually worked. So, of course it's fictional. :) They are best friends, and Jason and Nathaniel are best friends. Jason is Jean-Claude's pomme de sang, his daily blood donor. He lives with JC and the vampires. He's mischievous and adorable. He's one of my favorite characters but he's always been a fairly minor one. He longs for love. He and Anita have a platonic love, though they have sex, but he wants what Anita and Nathaniel have. And he's so likable, you want it for him.

Incubus Dreams, Laurell K. Hamilton

This is the first book I've felt was really Romance. I guess the whole series would be considered Supernatural Romance, but it just didn't really feel that way – this one does. I'm not a huge Romance fan. I don't hate it when it's done right (or my version of right), but I'm not really into. I have the 60/40 rule: 60% needs to be plot (action, mystery, thriller, fantasy, whatever), and 40% can be all mushy. It's not that I dislike Romance, it adds most of the time, what I mind is when it ends up feeling like the whole plot is just there to serve the couple. Then I get bored. I will accept 50/50 occasionally too, if the plot is interesting enough.

In the other books, there's usually an over arching story, a case, a mystery, something. The council is there. A new pard comes to town and people are trying to kill/capture Anita. Richard is framed for rape. SOMETHING. Despite the lack of a strong over arching story, I still enjoyed this book. That's not to say there's nothing going on, just not the fast paced, action packed, mystery/thriller type story we normally get. Nor does it come to a conclusion. 

Cerulean Sins, Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita continues her emotional growth in this one. There are two things going on here plot wise. One, Jean-Claude's sire (or is it his Dam? she's a chick anyway), Belle Morte, has sent her representatives early - like 3 months early. Two, there's a murderer in town crucifying people with a nail gun, and raping and slaughtering women. 

A few things happen to push Anita along on her emotional journey. She's still struggling with the Ardeur and has sex with Jason. He uses the opportunity to talk with her about how she withholds herself from all her men. It of course goes back to losing her mother, who she loved with her whole heart, and how she's never been truly accepted since then. From her stepmother, to the college fiance, to Richard, and now Dolph's continued badgering. But something else comes out: she doesn't really truly accept others either. She does it because she's trying to protect herself from loss - she doesn't really believe anyone will stay with her. It's not that these are new revelations (I've always maintained Anita is brutally honest with herself), it's that this is the first time she's admitted it out loud. She accepts people in the sense that she doesn't think less of them for who they are, but she can't allow herself to accept them enough to trust them with herself, with her heart, if you want to be sappy.

Narcissus in Chains, Laurell K. Hamilton

I just don't know what to say about this one. A lot happens, and Anita seems pleased at the end, I'm just not there. Of course, maybe I'm just missing her sarcasm this time. It does seems she's letting Jean-Claude feed the aduer from her now - from each other, really.

Obsidian Butterfly, Laurell K. Hamilton

Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long one. This book takes place in New Mexico: Edward's home. Something is skinning or dismembering people. Anita owes Edward a favor for killing Harley when an assassin was after her. This is the favor. There's a lot going on in this one, which is why this is a long write up.

I had really mixed feelings - especially in the beginning. Edward was a little too emotionless. I kept thinking, "God, I don't remember him being that bad." Soon you realize that it's just because he's clinging to his "monster," because of his family and we start to see emotion, maybe even love, certainly devotion leak out. It starts to pick up after that. Edward is engaged (no. really), to a widow with a 5 year old girl and a teen boy (14 I think). Anita predictably, and understandable, is PISSED.