110:49 Blood Cross by Faith Hunter

The 2nd in the Jane Yellowrock series.  Jane has been hired by the Vampire Council of New Orleans to investigate the new-rogues that she killed during her last assignment and put a stop to them and whoever is making them.  What she doesn't find out until too late is that the group responsible for them is also stealing witch children and killing them and she has her witch friend Molly and her two witchy children visiting.

A bit better with the pacing than the last one and the background stuff was woven in better as well.  A bit more playing with Jane's Cherokee heritage but also putting more vampire history in and blending that in with Christianity.  Makes for an interesting blend of things.  Really enjoying the series.

Page count: 321p/15,291p ytd

110:48 Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

The first book in the Jane Yellowrock series.  Urban fantasy but with a different twist.  The vampires are fairly standard, exist in families, drink blood, have just come out, etc.  Where we see differences are that there are only rumors of weres, elves, fairies, etc.  Jane herself is not a were but a skinwalker, one who can transform into more than one animal although she now has Beast living within her and they have an uneasy alliance but Beast and Jane are separate beings sharing a body.  More of a take on old Cherokee legends than the traditional European.

In this first novel, Jane has been hired to track down a rogue vampire in New Orleans.  Beast keeps referring to the rogue as liver-eater and that he smells of rot but also insists that his scent keeps changing.  Ms. Hunter keeps us guessing as to what exactly is going on up until the last act and does it well.  We only ever know as much as Jane/Beast does and her knowledge is limited.

A good start to the series and I'm eager to see where things go from here.

Page count: 320p/14,970p ytd

110:47 Touch of Greek by Tina Folsom

Triton, son of Poseidon, has ticked off Zeus yet again by dallying with his current mistress.  Zeus punishes him by turning him mortal and sending him to Earth until such time as he can earn the love of a woman, not for his looks but for his selflessness and generosity.  His friends aren't allowed to help him but those who try to hinder him will be rewarded.

I knew going in that this was a romance but the Greek mythology thing looked interesting to I gave it a try.  So not impressed.  The plot was non-existent.  There was very little actual interesting mythology twists in it and the writing was boring and repetitive.  Seriously, the author needs to utilize a thesaurus or spend less time trying to describe the same boring scenes and parts of anatomy so much.  If you are looking for a "sizzling" romance book, this is probably up your alley.  If you are looking for something with any kind of plot, real love, or heck, even decent sex scenes...pass.

Page count: 228p/14,650p ytd

110:46 Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs

The 2nd of the Raven Duology.  There is no time to rest for Seraph and her family after their defeat of the Path.  On the way home they find more and more evidence that there is a new Shadowed about and one that seems to be targeting their family.  When the Emperor comes to them for help and the old Lark tells them that they must find the lost city, they realize that the fate of the world, not just their family, is resting in their hands.

A good ending to an epic fantasy tale.  I felt that the final show-down with the Shadowed felt a little rushed and too Deux Ex Machina but not enough to truly detract from the overall wonderful story telling and incredible world building of the duology.

Page count: 381p/14,422p ytd

10:45 Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs

Fantasy with an epic feel to it.  The Traveller's are sort of like Earth's gypsies except that within them are those Ordered born who have special powers that are to be used to help the others from The Shadowed who was imprisoned but not destroyed.  Unfortunately, the darkness is spreading and there is a group that is now collecting The Ordered and stealing their power to use for their own means.  When Seraph, an Ordered Raven, is told that her husband, an Ordered Owl, is dead she embarks on a quest with her Ordered children to find out what has really happened to him.

I really, really love the rich worlds and characters that Ms. Briggs brings to her stories.  I also love the way she reveals the history of the world throughout the story without doing a big core dump in the beginning but rather starting you off meeting the characters through their actions and/or thoughts.  A fabulous story teller!

Page count: 334p/14,041p ytd

110:44 Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

I always have a hard time writing reviews of classics like this because anything I can say about has already been said a billion times and so much better than I could ever express.  So I will sum up in one word....enchanting.

Page count: 135p/13,707p ytd

110:43 Hungry Hearts by Gary McMahon

One of the Tomes of the Dead that Chris wanted me to read.   Great, the guy managed to write a zombie story without ever once using the word zombie and he takes pride in that.  I call shenanigans since all he did was substitute the phrase "walking dead" instead.  Same diff guy.  But really can I just say EWWWWWW!!!!!  I mean the serial killer who was finally able to realize his fantasy with the world going crazy was a big whatever.  The guy who snapped and decided to keep his wife "alive" after the serial killer was done killing her and she was a ZOMBIE was crazy but at least sort of understandable.  But when it develoved towards necrophilia that was just past the ew factor for me.  The story was definitely all about the gross out factor and in that it succeeded wonderfully and I'll admit the guy wrote creepy psychopaths well but I definitely won't be running out to find more of his books to read.  I will however be heading to the store to find some brain bleach.

Page count: 311p/13,572p ytd