Reading Meme – Day Sixteen

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Nov 162010
 

Day 16 – Your guilty pleasure book

This is a pretty tough choice, since I don’t consider any book “guilty”, no matter how pleasurable it may be.

Although I suppose that I must say that audio books in general are my “guilty” pleasure, as I enjoy listening to them at my job while I’m working.

Two of the audio books that I like the best are Jim Butcher’s Dresden series, as well as JK Rowling’s Harry Potter.

If I had to choose a “guiltier” pleasure, then it’d have to be Harry Potter. You see, I managed to get my hands on the British versions and I love the reader’s accent and the differences in language.

Sometimes, after spending 6 or 7 hours listening to this series, I end up with a bit of an accent. So if you see me start to call things ‘git’, then you know I’ve been reading Harry again.

And that’s my guilty little reading pleasure. What’s yours?

Reading Meme – Day Ten

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Nov 102010
 

Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

I thought when I picked up this very pink-themed book with its decidedly romance-y back cover blurb that there was a very good chance that I’d be disappointed. Especially with how much the book had been hyped in reviews and by the publisher.

Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised by plucky heroine Alexia Tarabotti and her werewolf beau. Click to read my reviews of books one, two, and three.

Reading Meme – Day Nine

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Nov 092010
 

Day 09 – Best scene ever

Geez, this one is a really, really hard choice. There are a ton of books who could qualify for “best scene”. Like:

  • The battleground scene of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart, where Phedre is nearly skinned alive and Joscelin nearly performs the terminus.

  • The climactic scene of Rob Thurman’s exciting Trixa novel: Trick of the Light. This ending is twistier than a bag full of soft pretzels.

  • The startling imagery of Anne Bishop’s Queen of the Darkness. Specifically, the scene where Saetan, Daemon, and Lucivar keep Jaenelle from returning to the Darkness.

  • The final, mind-boggling, jaw-dropping scene of Jim Butcher’s Changes. I may die of suspense before the next book, Ghost Story, is released next spring.

I honestly don’t know if I could choose. Each of these scenes is unique and intriguing in it’s own way. And all of these books are recommended by me!

Reading Meme – Day Eight

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Nov 082010
 

Day 08 – Your favorite work in translation

I’m embarrassed to say that, besides some work by English and Australian authors (which don’t really need to be translated at all), I haven’t read anything that fits into this category.

But I do have this on my to-be-read shelf & I will get around to reading it some day:

Reading Meme – Day Seven

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Nov 072010
 

Day 07 – A writer you don’t like

I’m going to interpret this in a different way, since I don’t know any authors well enough to dislike them personally.

I’ll talk about an author whose work I dislike. One can be critical of an author’s work without being critical of the author themselves. Sadly, sometimes an author cannot separate the two – and I believe that’s a sign of an amateur writer (regardless of whether they’ve been commercially published or how long they’ve been writing).

I’m not the only Anita Blake fan to become disillusioned at what many perceive to be a drastic change in the character’s … well – character. I also think the quality of the books has gone down. In several of the last books I read (Disclaimer: I stopped reading the series at around book 13 or 14, I think) the copy-editing seemed poor. There were enough misspelled, misused, or missing words to throw me out of the story, which is always a shame.

I won’t argue on the character change part. In my opinion, the author is god – at least in regard to their own world and words – so if that’s the path Hamilton wanted to take with her character, then that’s her choice. She obviously lost some readers, and just as obviously still has enough of them left to continue to put her on the best-seller list.

With that said, each reader makes a choice on what they want to read and what they don’t. And this is one series that I don’t.

Note: I’m closing comments on this article, because I don’t want it turned into a forum for author-bashing. Each person is entitled to their own opinion, but – for the sake of harmony & my peace of mind – I don’t want them displayed here.

Reading Meme – Day Six

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Nov 062010
 

Day 06 – Your favorite writer

I have lots of favorite writers. I love Kim Harrison, Anne Bishop, Jacqueline Carey and David Eddings, among many others.

If I had to choose one of those legion, however, I’d choose:

Jim Butcher has managed to write urban fantasy with elements of noir, epic fantasy with Roman legions and Pokemon, short fiction, and even Spider-Man. His work has also translated well into graphic novels and role-playing games. Butcher is a great author who isn’t afraid to drag his characters straight through the wringer, over a barbed wire fence, and into a bed of coals.

Reading Meme – Day Five

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Nov 052010
 

Day 05 – A book you hate

There are tons of books out there that I read, or tried to read, and didn’t like. I’ve had trouble, though, coming up with one that I actually hate.

Until I remembered that I was forced to read quite a few books in my Advanced Placement English course that I wasn’t very fond of. And the top of that pile is…

This book/play is supposed to be a work of literate genius. I appreciate the fact that some people think so.

I don’t.

For such a short story, it’s an eternity of torture. Maybe I’m bourgeois, but I like my tales to have a plot. I find things like having a beginning, a middle, and an end to be essential to a good book.

Reading Meme – Day Four

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Nov 042010
 

Day 04 – Your favorite book ever

I don’t honestly know if I can answer this question. I have lots of favorite books, and most of them are part of a series.

So I guess I’ll talk about my favorite volume among the books that I own.

You see, my husband for Christmas one year early in our relationship gave me the 1,248 page, leather bound deluxe edition of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Here’s the cover:

Isn’t that just gorgeous? It’s got gilt edges and a satin ribbon bookmark and includes all the tragedies, comedies, histories, and every sonnet. I read one of them when my husband and I were married, even.

I know  some people think Shakespeare is over-rated. I’m  not one of them. I love the way he can appeal to both the intellectual and the “commoner” by using brilliant metaphors and not-so-veiled double entendres. I was always very pleased by the fact that, whenever we studied Shakespeare in school, I almost always understood immediately. Most people thought of Shakespeare as a “foreign” language, and I was proud to serve as “translator”.

So, there. My favorite book, of a sorts.

Reading Meme – Day Three

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Nov 032010
 

Day 03 – Your favorite recent book

I’m a big fan of books written in multiples, if you couldn’t tell. If you really couldn’t, don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll prove that over the course of this month.

I’m going to have to say that The Icarus Project is my favorite recent book(s). There are 2 so far in the series: Black and White and Shades of Gray. They are a joint effort from Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge.

To repeat what I’ve already said about it:

“… cover to cover superhero girl-power awesomeness.”

You can see my reviews of both books here and here. Read them. You won’t regret it. [Buy it at B&N.]

Reading Meme – Day Two

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Nov 022010
 

Day 02 – A book that you wish more people had read

I know I should take this opportunity to put forward a book that has some great social message. But instead, I will merely be selfish. The first book I thought of when I read today’s meme is really the first two books of a series: The Godslayer Chronicles books 1 & 2 by James Clemens.

Clemens’ The Band and the Banished series was an excellent and unique dark fantasy tale. One of the few epic fantasies with a truly strong female lead character, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was very excited when The Godslayer Chronicles books started being released.

Clemens manages world-building on the level of Brandon Sanderson – though, sadly, I don’t know if he’s as consistent at it. Clemens also writes as James Rollins, but I haven’t read any of those books, and there is only the one full and this aborted series under the Clemens pen name.

I wish more people had read these books, for the sole reason that I want more of them. There, I told you it was selfish. The first two novels, Shadowfall and Hinterland, set up and introduced a bizarre new fantasy world with a multitude of characters that a reader can really get involved in (and attached to).

Sadly, the second book, Hinterland, was released back in 2006, and there have been no more volumes of this series since. I haven’t been able to find out any information on whether there will be forthcoming books, but considering the time delay, I’m thinking not. Which honestly puzzles the hell out of me, considering the first two books are still being sold at my local Borders bookstore. One would think that if the last book was released in 2006, and there are still copies on the shelf in 2010, that there must have been some success to the series. Otherwise, the books would have long-since been stripped and returned as unsold.

I am frustrated and sad at the lack of ending to this series. But, if I’ve tempted you at all, at least pick up this author’s completed series: The Banned and the Banished. It is complete, and thus has an ending so you won’t end up frustrated like me. The series contains: Wit’ch Fire, Wit’ch Storm, Wit’ch War, Wit’ch Gate, and Wit’ch Star. [Buy it at B&N.]

Reading Meme – Day One

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Nov 012010
 

I will fully admit to blatantly stealing this meme from CE Murphy’s journal. I thought it was a neat idea, and it occurred to me that I might be a tiny bit busy in November. So I am writing this to you from the not-so-distant past of early October, so that you have something to read while I am beating my forehead bloody on my netbook’s keyboard trying to write a novel in 30 days.

If you’d like to snatch this meme yourself, please see the first link above for the full list of each day.

Day 01 – Your favorite series of books (with more than 3 in the series)

First and foremost on my list is The Belgariad by David Eddings. Maybe there’s still a 12-year-old girl inside me somewhere, but I still enjoy these books (and I know I’m not the only one).

These are my comfort books. Whenever I get to feeling like the world is too harsh for me to handle, I retreat to these familiar words, these characters. Garion, Belgarath, Polgara and Ce’Nedra are all old friends of mine. Their story is so well-known to me that all the harsh edges have been worn away and the entire thing is like a soft, warm blanket I can wrap around myself when I’m troubled. It’s comforting to know that, even after everything these characters faced, they did prevail in the end. It makes me feel like I can win out over my own troubles, too. And I can rest easy knowing that at least I’ll never have to have a sword-duel with a god.

Other series that have ranked in my favorites section are (in no particular order):

  • Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden/ Dresden Files [Buy it at B&N.]
  • Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern and Tower and the Hive [Buy it at B&N.]
  • Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan/ The Hollows [Buy it at B&N.]
  • Anne Bishop’s The Black Jewels Trilogy – which is no longer a trilogy, and thus can be included in this list. [Buy it at B&N.]
  • David (and Leigh) Eddings’ The Mallorean, The Elenium, and The Tamuli [Buy it at B&N.]

One of my biggest regrets is that I will never be able to meet the Eddings, and that it never occurred to me growing up to write a fan letter and let them both know how very much their stories meant to me growing up. How much they still mean to me now.

And yes, The Wheel of Time should get an honorable mention, at the very least, as everyone I care about who isn’t blood related to me I met because of that series.

Review: The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

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Sep 202010
 

by Brent Weeks The Black Prism

Lightbringer #1

Written: Brent Weeks [website]

Published: Orbit, Hardcover

When: August 25th, 2010

ISBN: 0316075558

Obtained via: Purchase

Cover blurb: Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he’s willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

* * *

There is so much to address about The Black Prism. We have a very ambitious new fantasy world, a unique and fairly complicated magic system, an interesting political set-up, and some pretty ambiguous characters.

First, the magic system – which consists of an inherent ability of certain members of this society to turn pure light into a plastic-y substance of various states of solidity. This substance is called luxin, and consists of the various colors of the visible spectrum of light plus what in the book is called “superviolet” and “sub-red”. Not all people in this world can create luxin, however, and of those that can, none can create luxin from more than 2 or 3 colors out of the entire spectrum. Except, of course, for the man known as the Prism.

Which brings us to Gavin Guile, the current political leader of the Seven Satrapies. Gavin is a wealth of contradictions. He is a savvy politician; a powerful user of the entire spectrum of luxin; a kind and gentle man, who accepts the sudden shame of a half-competent bastard son with barely a care for how it will affect his own plans. We don’t see all of his five goals, but the ones we do see are noble indeed. Yet, he is also the victor of a vicious war who left thousands dead, an entire satrapy virtually destroyed, and his own brother deposed. He then rather callously dumps his fiancée and sets himself up as the supreme ruler of the entire kingdom.

Then there’s Kip, the aforementioned bastard, whose mouth moves fastest, mind moves second, and legs move last of all. He’s a smart-talking, tubby teenager with low self-esteem whose mouth frequently writes checks his body can’t cash. Kip’s snarky, repetitive comments about his size and abilities is occasionally enough to set one’s teeth on edge, but I think it’s a pretty true vision of what a teenager would be thinking. Because there’s no one more important to a 15-year-old than themselves….

Some people have taken issue with Kip’s repeated self-esteem issues – and there are a lot of them. I’ll admit that Weeks is treading a fine line here between an honest portrayal of a character and one so frustrating and pitiful that you must distance yourself as a reader. But my opinion is that he’s coming down on the side of candor, rather than annoyance. Each reader must ultimately judge that for themselves.

I’m leaving out many compelling characters, of course, and even more compelling events. I read this 626 page hardcover in 2-3 days while working full-time. I think that feat speaks to the draw of this book.

There are tropes here to examine, of course: the poor boy who suddenly finds himself in possession of a noble name and great power; a subject king in rebellion (and a siege!); the girl-fighter who became a warrior to hide her vulnerabilities. Every fantasy, by virtue of being called fantasy, must have one or two. I think Weeks has done a pretty good job of stacking them together in a unique new way.

The magic system, in my opinion, is what that in Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker should have been. This is not a knock against that book (which was excellent in its own way); there was plenty going on there and I understand why Sanderson chose not to take that opportunity. However, I’ve been curious to see what a magic system using color and light as separate functions would look like, and I’m pleased that Weeks has managed to do it so well. I’m curious to find out why the various colors have different degrees of solidity and I hope that’s explored further in later books. I’d love to know why, for instance, the author chose yellow as a liquid while blue is a solid, etc.

Ultimately, though, I think this book speaks a lot about whether one can overcome their past and make a better future. Gavin is trying to heal the wounds of a pretty horrific war. He’s lied. He’s murdered. In his mind, both were for the better good. Is that enough to overcome the choices he has made to get where he is? As the first book in a series, we obviously don’t yet have the answer. But it’s the question that is important.

The same goes for Kip. He’s the poor son of a drug-addicted, abusive mother and an (until now) absent father. His home satrapy is conquered by Gavin’s war, and then fifteen years later, his hometown is razed by soldiers of his own King. In this case, Kip’s situation didn’t spring from his own decisions, but he still has a terrible past. Are the brave deeds he accomplishes during the course of this book enough to separate him from that past? Again, we don’t know the answer, but the questioning is even more crucial.

The Black Prism gives us layer upon layer of past decisions and actions affecting current affairs, and it makes a truly intriguing web of events. I’m excited about seeing the rest of these consequences unfold. Once you top that with some well-rounded, three-dimensional characters, each with noble intentions and dangerously real flaws, you get a spicy recipe for a series that I will definitely be lining up to finish.

Buy The Black Prism: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Rating: ★★★★¼ 

Wishlist: Upcoming Titles

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Aug 242010
 

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks [website]

by Brent WeeksRelease: August 26, 2010

Published: Orbit, Hardcover

ISBN: 9781841499031

Blurb: Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he’s willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

My Thoughts: Weeks’ Shadow Trilogy, though well-written, was,  sadly, something I just couldn’t connect to as a reader. However, I read the first chapters posted on the publisher’s website and I was enraptured. I’ve already ordered this book, and B&N at least is already shipping. I can’t wait to receive it! By the way, I got Green on the quiz. I always seem to get Green, for some reason.

Take The Black Prism quiz. Or buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson [website]

by Brandon SandersonRelease: August 31, 2010

Published: Tor, Hardcover

ISBN: 9780765326355

Blurb: It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. [Read more at GoodReads.]

My Thoughts: Sanderson’s magic systems alone are reason enough to read everything he’s ever written. I’m buying this book sight-unseen* (I haven’t even read the sample chapters. It’d be torture!), and I’m 100% confident that it’ll be great. That’s how much faith I have in this author.

*I also won an ARC of this book from Tor via Twitter. I hope it gets here before Dragon*Con, as I’d love to get my copy signed!

Pre-order the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen [website]

by Jesse PetersenRelease: September 1, 2010

Published: Orbit, Mass market

ISBN: 9780316102865

Blurb: A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things – the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

My Thoughts: Just a couple of months ago, I was bewailing the fact that married couples are rare in urban fantasies. Now I seem to have gotten my wish. It warms my heart to think of a husband-and-wife team beheading zombies together. Everyone say, “Awwwww!”  I know that’s just what my husband and I would be doing during the Zombiepocalypse. I’ll be shambling off to pick up this one as soon as it’s released!

Pre-order the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Blameless by Gail Carriger [website]

by Gail CarrigerRelease: September 1, 2010

Published: Orbit, Mass market

ISBN: 9780316074155

Blurb: {Beware: This blurb contains spoilers for book 2!}

Quitting her husband’s house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London’s vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires — and they’re armed with pesto.

My Thoughts: Carriger effectively hooked me with the end of book #2. And I returned the favor by getting a friend addicted to the series, too. Luckily for my friend, she just finished Changeless last week. I’ve been chomping at the bit for Blameless for months. I’m so glad we’re finally getting close to the release date!

Pre-order the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Guest Post: Review – Fire by Kristin Cashore

 Books, Guest Reviews, Reviews  3 Responses »
May 272010
 

Fire

by: Kristin Cashore

Genre: Fantasy

November 2009

Dial Books

ISBN: 978-0803734616

461 pages

Last year at DragonCon, I sat in on a panel run by the Young Adult Literature track that focused on strong female protagonists in YA lit, and  I came out of it with a list of authors and novels to check out. Among them was Kristin Cashore’s debut novel, Graceling. Months later, when I finally remembered that list of recommended reads and gave Graceling a chance, I kicked myself for not reading it immediately. I fell in love with the world Cashore created, with the strength and vulnerability of her protagonist, and with her writing in general. I was delighted when I learned that Cashore had written a companion story titled Fire. Fire shares with Graceling the larger world, though it is set in a kingdom that is separate from those featured in the previous novel. Fire also shares one character–who I won’t spoil–with the other novel. Set before the events of Graceling, Fire stands alone as its own story, so you can read either book first.

In The Dells, it is dangerous for anyone to travel the roads without an armed escort of at least six, rebels are building armies against the king, and monsters–terribly beautiful creatures that can capture a human’s mind–roam the wilds. It is in this place that Fire, the protagonist, lives. She is the last of her kind, a human monster. Being a monster means that her mere presence can overwhelm a weak human mind, and she can, with concentration, control the minds of those around her. She is loved, feared, and hated because of what she is. The populace of The Dells know well the damage she is capable of: her father had been the monster advisor of the late King, and the two men had driven the kingdom into the ground, both men known for their excesses and her father especially known for his cruelty. When we meet Fire she is living in the shadow of her father’s brutal and frightening legacy, maintaining a quiet life in the remote holding where she has grown up.

Fire is desperate not to become her father. She keeps herself covered to avoid influencing others with her appearance, lives in relative isolation, and uses her ability to affect and control the minds of others sparingly. Fire’s desire to stay out of the politics of the realm, to remain out of the public eye, is pushed aside when King Nash sends his brother, Lord Brigan, to bring her to the royal family. They want her to use her ability to help them uncover plots against the king. Fire must make a choice. Does she embrace the power she inherited from her father, who had so horribly abused it?

It is for Fire as it is for many of us: only in leaving the comfort of home, in taking a risk in moving forward, and stretching her ability as she never has before, can she grow into herself. As she spends time with the royal family, four siblings who also live in the shadow of their father’s dark legacy, that she begins to understand that she is not required to follow in the footsteps of her father. She sees them struggle to keep the kingdom in one piece, to work past the damage their father the king and her father the monster advisor inflicted. “Not all daughters were like their fathers,” she realizes. “A daughter monster chose the monster she would be.” It is a turning point for Fire and, of course, for those around her.

Reading Fire is reading the best kind of coming-of-age story. The world is richly described, the characters are accessible, and Fire is a complex and mutli-faceted protagonist who at turns made me cheer and made me cry, and I quite literally chewed my nails in anxiety at points in Fire’s journey. It’s a beautiful tale, one I’m glad to have read. Now go read it.

Review: Magic On The Storm by Devon Monk

 Books, Reviews  5 Responses »
May 172010
 

I love this series.

I will just open with that and have done with it. I first picked it up just as Devon Monk was promoting what I think I remember as being the 2nd book. I’d followed another author to a blog (Perhaps it was the Deadline Dames?) and found a post by Ms. Monk about setting goals and following them through. I set one, I followed through, I gave her my mailing address… And ended up receiving sometime later the cutest little frog, with his tiny green butt pasted to a scrap of cardboard. And a magnet (which is still on my fridge). And a pen (which I still use, when I can find it in the heaping mess that is my Writer’s Corner).

Anyone who knows me is well aware that the path to my heart lies through office supplies. Especially pens. From that day forward it was a done deal.

I suppose it helps that I really, honestly love the books. The characters are real. The magic system takes such a toll that using it is almost more than it’s worth. (Admit it – this is how magic would work in real life. Nothing is ever easy!)

We’re currently 4 books in and Allie still has no clue what the heck is going on. This is a beloved contrast to some (a lot) (most) other urban fantasies, where the heroine has it all figured out and has whooped the bad guy by the last page of the first book. Then we have to sit through sixteen more books where she continues to get stronger & stronger until you just want to scream ‘Mary Sue!’ and throw the book across the room. [1]

You can find a description of Magic on the Storm, as well as the other books in the series over here. Now. If you haven’t read any of these yet, go get them and quit bothering me. You know I’d never steer you wrong.

If you have read them, let’s dish!

  • How much do you love Stone? Who doesn’t want a loyal, man-trampling gargoyle for a pet. So cute!
  • This whole ‘My dead dad lives in my head’ thing? Not cute. Really creepy actually. Gives me shudders every time I think of it. I’d be showering blindfolded for the rest of my life! Hope this gets resolved soon…
  • And Zayvion Jones! SWOON! Allie’s understated interracial relationship  is a total win. Yes, I’m only saying that because this particular white chick married a black man. Who doesn’t want to see a reflection of themselves in fiction? (That’s part of the whole point, right? People want to read books about people like themselves.) And I love that it’s not a big deal. Heck, maybe it’s not in Seattle; I live in the Midwest. Huge difference.
  • Loved the magic free-for-all at the climax of this one. It cranked the stakes up about a dozen notches or so, and I can’t wait for the next book.
  • P.S. ~ If the publisher gods are listening, I’d go all Thunderdome for an ARC of the next book. A girl can dream, right?

[1] I said you’d want to. I do not recommend actually throwing books. That is a crime against literature. And bad for the foreheads of anyone living with you. Do not ask me how I know this.

Rating: ★★★★★ 


Visit the author’s blog.

And buy the book at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powell’s, or your other favorite book seller.

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