3:120 Portents by Kelley Armstrong

 A collection of several short stories and novellas set in the Cainsville universe. Most have been published before but are now gathered in one place.  I enjoyed dipping back into the universe even if I had read many of them before. 

"Scream of Dragons" was originally published in Subterranean Press Magazine. I hadn't read it before and it was seriously creepy. It takes place when Rose is a teen and Seanna is a toddler and shows what can go wrong when the fae blood mixes badly and the child is taken away from Cainsville.

I know I've read "Devil May Care" before but can't remember if it was an extra at the back of a book or something else. It is the story of how Patrick and Seanna got together just long enough to produce Gabriel. Shows just how broken Seanna always was and doesn't do Patrick any favors either.

"Gabriel's Gargoyles" shows Gabriel about 10 years old already having figured out how to navigate his mother and ready to con and pickpocket and it's heartbreaking to see how broken he is because of Seanna.

"The Black Cat" is Gabriel's take on Poe's "The Orange Cat" and "Bad Publicity" is a Patrick prequel that again doesn't show him in the best light. Both were originally preorders for Betrayals.

"Matagot" is a new story and reveals more about TC's true nature and what happened during his kidnapping in Visions. It was interesting as it also reveals more about the start of the Matilda, Gwyn, and Arwen legends.

"Lady of the Lake" was another Betrayals preorder bonus but I don't remember having read it before. It takes place during Olivia and Ricky's vacation when they find a haunted lake.

I do hope that Ms. Armstrong continues to play in this universe from time to time as I do enjoy getting to go back with new stories.

Page count: 320p/715p ytd/348,096p lifetime

55:100 Lost Souls by Kelley Armstrong

A man driving on a lonely stretch of highway sees a woman in white in need of a lift who directs him to her friend's house that is just a patch of forest in the middle of nowhere and then vanishes.  It's a familiar enough tale but something is odd this time so Patrick brings it to Gabriel to investigate hoping that Gabriel will use it as an excuse to try and patch things up with Liv since she loves a good mystery and weird ones even more.  But this case will have Gabriel facing more than white specter who gets people lost in the woods. He will have to realize and face how lost he has become.

Read this one out of order, not that it matters much.  It was an interesting tale and always fun to get more insights into these characters.

Page count: 190p/14,810p ytd/323,505p lifetime

54:100 Cruel Fate by Kelley Armstrong

Olivia is finally getting what she has wanted since she found out the truth about her past, her father's release from prison.  Unfortunately, not everyone is so happy to see Todd freed and while he was innocent of the crimes that sent him to prison for the last 20 years, he does have one murder on his hands, the one that kicked off everything that came about afterwards and someone is laying the clues out for him to go back to jail with no possibility of being found innocent this time.  Liv is hovering over her father like a nervous mother hen and when she starts hearing about this trail, she will do everything in her power to make it go away including using her position as Matilda as well as calling in her Arwen and Gwynn. 

My biggest disappointment is that this is the last planned novella for this series and I would love to continue reading all about Liv, Gabriel, and Ricky.  This was a good note to end on with the wrapping up of Todd's story and how things got started so many years ago.

Page count: 200p/14,620p ytd/323,315p lifetime

51:100 Rough Justice by Kelley Armstrong

Liv as Matilda has made her choice which is to not choose.  Tonight marks her first night leading the Wild Hunt in a true Hunt where someone will be brought to Justice.  Ioan has given her the name and said she should do her research but she wanted to just trust but once she was there with the man having judgement passed, she found that she was not clear enough in her mind.  The Hunt was called off and Liv started researching the case to try and put her mind at ease but what she found was much less clear cut than she was lead to believe would be the case.

Good to see Liv truly embracing her role as Matilda and seeing how things are going now that the choice has been made.  Really enjoy the fact that Ms. Armstrong gives us these extra stories that don't fit into the main story arc but add so much depth to the world.

Page count: 190p/12,186p ytd/322,881p lifetime

50:100 Rituals by Kelley Armstrong

The conclusion to the Cainsville series.  Things are coming home to roost, not just the legendary fae trio but Liv's mom, Pamela, and Gabriel's mom, Seanna, and the third fae group that has been silent up until now but has been manipulating things with designs upon getting Liv onto their side since she was a baby, the sluagh, dark bogeyman of the fae.  Now Liv must fight, not just for herself and her right to choose her own fate but also for Ricky and Gabriel as well.

This series has been a fabulous ride and the ending was everything I could wish for.  Watching Liv, Gabriel, and Ricky grow and evolve to embrace their fae sides while keeping their humanity and being able to make their own choices was a treat.  I'm very glad that Ms. Armstrong is continuing to write stories in this world as she has done for the Otherworld series so we don't have to say good-bye quite yet.


Page count: 471p/11,996p ytd/322,691p lifetime

44:100 Betrayals by Kim Harrison

The 4th book in the Cainsville series.  Street kids are being murdered and someone is working hard to pin the blame on Ricky.  Of course Liv is going to start investigating which means that Gabriel will eventually end up on the case even if they are having personal issues between them at the moment.  However, the street kids aren't human but lamia, a Greek fae, who don't really fit in anywhere any more and they desperately need help and Liv can't just turn away from them no matter the risk to her personally. 

If the last book was all about the love triangle between Olivia, Gabriel, and Ricky with the ending being a somewhat forced break in even the friendship of Olivia and Gabriel than this book is much more a mystery with the romance angles taking the backseat.  Gabriel manages to get over himself and his insecurities enough to actually talk to Liv and she, in turn, gets over all of her hangups about his hangups to really open up and talk to him.  Bout freaking time is all I can say there.  Liv and Ricky are really starting to learn more about their powers, how they work, and are coming into their own realizations of the legendary figures that they are the reincarnations of.  In all, I don't know how much this advanced the resolution of their reincarnated issues but it was a good installment in terms of character growth and development along with more playing in the world that has been created than previously which is always fun to read.


Page count: 416p/10,769p ytd/321,464p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 3rd Quarter 2018

My usual disclaimer:

Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

So last quarter I was thinking that as I got more used to the job, I would find a better balance and have more time for reading.

Yeah, not so much.  What I have found is that this job cycles from crazy to insane when an election is drawing near.  I probably should have figured that out but apparently I'm either an optimist or deluded (probably the later LOL).  I'm really enjoying it but it has definitely proven to be a lot more than I originally bargained on and my reading has greatly suffered.  Add in two deaths in my immediate family in a two week span of time, end of school year craziness, and volunteer work craziness and well, I'm lucky to read a few pages a day.  I haven't finished a book club book since February and have had almost no personal reading time.  With the primary election cycle just about done, I'm hoping to get some things caught up and balanced a little bit better before school and the general election craziness starts up but I'm thinking that my goal of reading 100 books this year is looking like a pipe dream unless I find a whole lot more short stories and comics.  LOL

None of this means that I haven't been keeping an eye on books that I want to read (and in some cases adding them to my growing To Read pile) so here's what is currently on my radar:


Yasmine Galenorn has been very prolific since going independent with several new series going all at the same time and I have not been able to keep up with them but the second book in the Wild Hunt series, Oak and Thorns, is coming out.  I haven't had a chance to read the first book in the series yet but the series looks interesting with this one hitting political intrigue, shadow magic, a serial killer, and the King of Thorns.

Release date - July 2

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is not part of an actual series except that it's another her reimagined fairy tales, this time Rumpelstiltskin.  I really enjoyed Uprooted which is her version of Beauty and the Beast and I can't wait to see what she does with this one.

Release date - July 10

Next up is the third book in the Custard Protocols by Gail Carriger.  Competence sees Miss Primrose going from Singapore to Peru to pursue some of life's most challenging questions such as "Can the perfect book club give a man back his soul?"  I have not yet read the other books in this series but I've loved the other series set in this universe and am looking forward to getting to these.

Release date - July 17

Also coming out this day is Seanan McGuire's second book in her Ghost Roads series, The Girl in the Green Silk Gown.  Rose Marshall has been dead for 60 years now and still looking for her killer.  She's been an avenging killer in her own right but still she wants the one that got away, the one that made a deal with the Crossroads that won't let him die...Bobby Cross.  But now Bobby is back in the picture and will it be one that Rose can continue to haunt?

Release date - July 17

Another double release for the end of July starts with Portents by Kelley Armstrong.  While the Cainsville series is technically over (although I still need to read the last two books), Ms. Armstrong is doing like she did with her Otherworld series and giving us other tales set in the world.  Some have been previously released and I've read before, others seem to have been previously released and I haven't heard of, and at least one is new for this collection.

Release date - July 31

We also get a new Dorina Basarab book in Shadow's Bane by Karen Chance.  I have enjoyed Dory's stories much more than the Cassie Palmer ones lately and it's been a long time since we got a new one and I'm really looking forward to it.  Dory is now the newest member of the Vampire Senate and as their war with the Fae is heating up, she is finding out that the slavers who may have her friend's relative may be up to something far worse than arranging death matches.

Release date - July 31

Only one book is on my radar for August but it's a huge one as Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews is said to be the conclusion to the Kate Daniels series.  The Witch Oracle's visions are becoming more intense and then Kate receives a delivery from an ancient enemy who has almost destroyed her family before.  To save Curran, her child, her friends, her city, Kate must team up with the most unlikely of allies even knowing she may not survive because otherwise everything she loves will die.

Release date - August 28

I get to go from one favorite series to another as we get the next installment for October Daye the next week.  Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire does not promise to be sweetness and light for October though since Jazz and Tybalt are still trying to recover from their ordeal at the hands of October's mother.  Toby is also hurt as she can't just snap her fingers and make things better for her family so the universe has given her a distraction in the form of kidnapping her human daughter, Gillian, but we know that nothing in Toby's life is simple or easy and this case will prove no exception.

Release date - September 4

Closing out this quarter's books is Time Convert by Deborah Harkness.  Set in the world of her All Soul's trilogy, this bounces us between Matthew's conversion of Marcus to a vampire during the American Revolution and then Marcus's conversion of Phoebe in modern times and how will some things change, some things will remain the same. 

Release date - September 25

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 3rd Quarter 2017

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

I'm still falling behind on my reading goals for this year.  But then again, I feel like I'm behind with everything these days so I guess that's not a surprise.  I'm hoping to be able to find time to get more reading in this summer to maybe start gaining some ground on my To Read list. *crossing fingers*

Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price starts off the quarter.  I'm really happy that whatever caused the long break between books 3 and 4 seems to be resolved and we have a new one so soon.  I like the magic/Fae stuff in this world a lot so it's nice to be able to return.

Release Date - July 4


Two are coming out later in July. Buried Heart by Kate Elliot is the conclusion to the Court of Fives trilogy.  War is coming and Jessamy must try to bring the two sides of her country together to save those she loves.

Release Date - July 25

Also coming that day is Wildfire by Ilona Andrews, the third book in the Hidden Legacy series.  Book two was delayed and I haven't read it yet so I need to catch up on what is going on between Rogan and Nevada since it looks like things are getting more interesting between the two of them with this book.

Release Date - July 25


Only a week later and there are another two books out that are on my radar.  The Urban Enemies anthology collects stories from 17 authors including some of my faves like Seanan McGuire and Kelley Armstrong and lets them tell tales from one of their villains points of view. Since villains rarely see themselves as such, it should be interesting to see how each of these see themselves.

Release Date - August 1


I'm less excited about this one.  Ride the Storm by Karen Chance is the latest in the Cassie Palmer series and I just didn't enjoy the last one very much.  I feel like we are in some sort of static bubble where nothing really happens or changes with the plot or the characters. I've been hoping for the last couple of books to see things move forward and it looks like this might finally be doing that.  Here's hoping.

Release Date - August 1


Rituals by Kelley Armstrong is the final book in the Cainsville series which I have been really enjoying but am unfortunately a book behind in.  Need to hurry up and fix that because I'm dying to see how all this resolves!

Release Date - August 15

September starts off with what I'm sure will be a good laugh with White Trash Zombie Unchained by Diana Rowland.  These books have amazed me with the fact that they are so much fun but at the same time, the character growth and development is phenomenal!  Not what I would ever have expected from a zombie series, let alone one titled as White Trash Zombie.

Release Date - September 5

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire finishes out the 3rd quarter and I can't wait to see what trouble Toby gets into this time.  With her mother demanding that she find her long lost sister, I mean really, what could possibly go wrong?

Release Date - September 5

40:120 The Orange Cat and Other Cainsville Tales by Kelley Armstrong

Free collection if you pre-ordered the 4th book in the Cainsville series, Betrayals, and features three stories from that universe.

The Orange Cat - Gabriel has never had a client quite like this man.  He has come in and told Gabriel that he has tried to get rid of his cat many times and it always comes back. He is sure the last time, he lost his temper and broke the cat's neck but the next day it was back.  Now Gabriel grew up with time in Cainsville so he knows weird things can happen but this one may just be the one that stumps him.

Bad Publicity - Patrick has always made it a point in his writing career to make sure his contracts keep him from having to go out and do any kind of publicity since that is the last thing he wants. Unfortunately, he is ambushed by his new "publicist" who manages to find a loophole and that's when things take a turn from the mundane.

Lady of the Lake - Ricky and Liv decided to go on a vacation at the end of book 3 and this takes place during their motorcycle trip. They are up in Canada and find a lovely little lake to stop and refresh themselves. Of course they manage to find a portal and a water fae there. They escape and promise not to go back until they are begged by a young woman in the town where they are staying to help look for her missing baby and they realize they may just know where to find her.

A lovely collection of stories that help fill in and enrich the characters we know and enjoy but aren't necessarily needed for the main story but fulfill that desire to know more.


Page count: 164p/8,451p ytd/282,854p lifetime

92:120 Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

The third book in the Cainsville series by Kelley Armstrong.  Olivia is continuing to be plagued by visions and most especially by the little blond girl who insists she has something Olivia needs to see.  Gabriel is going to everyone he can find to try and figure out how to stop the visions in his efforts to protect Olivia from whatever is going on but when Olivia finally allows the visions to run their course, she finds out more than she could have ever dreamed about her distant past and how Gabriel, Ricky, and her are entwined in something so much bigger than they ever could have imagined.  Now she must try to figure out how to let them know without scaring them away or the consequences could be horrific for not just themselves but for races they are just now learning are still alive.  With this hanging over her, Gabriel now under suspicion of murder, and more details coming to light about her parents' supposed crimes, Olivia may be nearing her breaking point and the relationships she cares most about could be in jeopardy.

I've really enjoyed this series.  While there is a supernatural element, so much is about self-discovery and trying to solve the mysteries around Olivia and her entire life.  I couldn't put this down and am now saddened that I have to wait another year for the next one.


Page count: 453p/24,406p ytd/239,338p lifetime

13:120 Gifted by Kelley Armstrong

Gabriel's Gargoyles - set in the Cainsville universe but back when Gabriel was young.  Every year in Cainsville the children hunt around to find as many of the gargoyles hidden around the town as they can.  The child who finds the most gets a prize and the one who finds them all will get a gargoyle made in their image put up somewhere in the town.  Gabriel doesn't care about having a gargoyle made in his image but he is determined to find them all simply because he knows he can so every time he is allowed to visit his Aunt Rose, he spends part of his time wandering the town in search of them.  When he isn't doing that, he is working to try and get his Aunt the perfect Solstice present.  Gabriel has plans and he will make sure they all come to fruition.

I really enjoyed seeing Gabriel as a young boy but it's not a happy home life and definitely explains a lot of his attitudes when we finally meet him.  I also found the interactions between him, Patrick, and the Elders to be an interesting bit of backstory.  Definitely not a necessary read to understand anything in the series but still nice backstory.

The Puppy Plan - Elena and Clay have Kate out on a shopping trip and Logan is out wandering when he discovers a half-dead puppy.  Knowing that this is what Kate wants more than anything, he resolves to nurse it back to health and try to convince his parents to allow him to give it to her as a Christmas present.  Things don't go quite as planned when a mutt shows up on the property and the surprise ends up being blown before he can come clean to them.

Ok, Elena and Clay were always my favorite characters in the Women of the Otherworld series and I'm so thrilled that so many of the novellas and short stories coming out since the end of the series have focused on them (and even more thrilled that it's now a TV show!).  Getting to see their interactions with their kids is fabulous and this was wonderful getting to be inside Logan's head and hearing his internal debates and dilemmas.  I'm glad I waited until now to read it though because they reference something that happened in the new novel "Forsaken" that I just received and talked about how traumatic it had been for Kate but without ever mentioning what had happened.  Needless to say, that moved quickly up my "to read" list.  

Page count: 82p/3,455p/218,389p