Dream Chaser, Sherrilyn Kenyon

We got another dream god here.

So, when Kat and Sin were fighting the demons in Devil May Cry, they got help from a dream god, Xepher, who was killed and sentenced to eternal torture by Hades. Kat makes a deal in exchange for his help.

He was sentenced because he supposedly tortured and killed people with his powers. Remember I said some dream gods could become addicted to the emotions they siphon from humans? Well, Xepher was one of those.

Only thats not really what happened. Satara, Stryker's sister, manipulated him into killing for her. Ok, she seduced him. Straight up. He was willing to take the fall for her, but she was supposed to wipe out his existence completely so Hades couldn't torture him. Only she doesn't. Of course not. That would be too nice for her.

So, now, the deal. If Xepher helps Kat et al, which he definitely does, he gets a month of freedom. If he doesn't show his humanity in a month, then he goes back to eternal torture. His plan? To kill Satara. If he's going to be tortured for eternity, he wants her to be right beside him.

That doesn't happen of course. Satara hears about his plan and devises one of her own. She uses a pair of bracelets that tie the life energy of two wearers to each other.

Sins of the Night, Sherrilyn Kenyon

So, this one had a lot of good backstory. Not just about the Dark Hunters, but specifically about Ash.

Here we meet Alexion, which seems to be more title than name, but they use it like a name. His real name is Ias. He was the third hunter ever created. He's also the one who got the "get your soul back" out clause established for all the hunters.. He paid for it by becoming a shade, which is basically a sadder form of ghost.

Yeah, his bitch wife intentionally dropped his soul.

But Ash hates the idea of his hunters suffering. He tries to save Ias, but wasn't familiar enough with his powers and kinda fucked it up. Since then, if a hunter dies in the line of duty, Ash takes them to a special island where they can be as content as shades can be. He even gives them some kind of form. He doesn't tell others because he worries they'll be more reckless if they know they can come back from it. Sorta.

A fair point given the attitudes of most hunters.

Anyway, as I said, Alexion is a title. Basically he's Ash's #2. Apparently over the past eleven thousand years, a pattern has developed. Every couple thousand or so, a bunch of hunters get their souls and go free, and another bunch decide to mutiny. When that happens Alexion goes in and saves those he can, and executes those who insist on fighting Ash.

I should clarify that those who revolt do so with the idea that the should rule humanity and prey on them. Its not just a pissed off Ash.

Seize the Night, Sherrilyn Kenyon

Yay!! Valerius is back!

OK, you have no idea who that is.

So remember Zarek from Dance with the Devil? This is the brother that I mentioned. I wanted he and Zarek to reconcile.

And Kyrian from Night Pleasures? Well, this is the grandson of the guy who crucified him (No, I don't mean that as a figurative crucifixion. I mean literally.) and who also looks exactly like his grandfather.

Oh, and don't forget Kyrian is married to Amanda now, and her twin is Tabitha, our heroine.

One big happy family, right?!

Maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh!

OK, I'm done.

So, Val's story is one of the easiest to read. He certainly hasn't had an easy time of it, and you feel bad for him, but for some reason it just didn't hit me like the others have.

And he does act like a dick. A big one. It's intentional, a defense mechanism to keep people away, just like Zarek acts crazy, but Val does a seriously good job of being a dick.

He and Kyrian come to a truce, if not a friendship, and Zarek moves to accept his brother - even making him a god like he is. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but we find out in Kiss of the Night that Zarek takes great pleasure in messing with Val using his new god powers. Well, now the sibling rivalry is on equal footing.

So, what happens? Well, everyone dies.

No really.

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.

Blue Moon, Laurell K. Hamilton

This book starts with Anita finding out Richard has been arrested for rape. Obviously not possible. So, Anita runs to the rescue, leaving a irritated and jealous Jean-Claude behind.

So, it's no shocker Anita and Richard end up hooking up. It was kind of surprising that Richard said he was willing to date Anita while she keeps dating JC. The condition being that he gets do the same. It kind of felt like he did it with the intention of hurting her, which was irritating. Of course, Anita's isn't super excited about this, and both of them know it's hypocritical. But it's not really. I mean, yes, in reality it is, but this is a book. (to Gasp!) The thing is, Anita puts it perfectly, if you're still dating, you're still looking, and if you're still looking, you might find what you're looking for a leave. She may be with JC, but she's not still looking. She just loves them both.