24:120 Otherworld Nights by Kelley Armstrong

An Otherworld anthology.  We get stories from all over the timeline and list of characters.  Demonology shows us a little bit of what life is like for the women and children demons leave behind as we get a glimpse of Adam's childhood.  In Twilight, we see what it is like as vampire's start to near the end of their lifespans with Cassandra and Aaron.  We get to see what happens on Elena and Clay's honeymoon in Stalked and Reese's backstory and how he ended up with the North American pack in Chivalrous. There is more Hope and Karl in Lucifer's Daughter and we finally get to see where things are heading with Savannah and Adam in Vanishing Act.  Of course, no Otherworld anthology would be complete without lots of Clay and Elena and the Pack so we get Hidden (which I'm pretty sure I've read elsewhere) and From Russia with Love.

What can I say, I LOVE this universe and all the characters in it (although I'm totally partial to Clay and Elena) and these stories were all fabulous.  If you are a fan of the Women of the Otherworld series, this is a must read.

Page count: 351p/5,495p ytd/220,429p lifetime

23:120 Oh Pretty Bird by Seanan McGuire

The continuing adventures of Fran and Jonathan Healy.  It's been several years since their first child, Daniel, was murdered in his bed. They have moved forward with their lives and have had a little girl, Alice, but they have never stopped looking for the person who cost them their firstborn.  Now it looks like Jonathan's parents, Enid and Alex, have a lead but the odds are not in favor of their surviving this trip.

It was nice to see some resolution on that storyline.  It sounds like we won't see much more of Jonathan and Frances which is a bummer as I have really enjoyed them.

Page count: 31p/5,144p ytd/220,078p lifetime

22:120 Double Star by Robert Heinlein

Lorenzo Smythe was a down on his luck actor looking to find an easy mark when a spacer walked into the bar and he made his move.  He had no idea how his life was about to change as he was given the role of a lifetime: impersonating a major political figure in order to save face and an alliance with the Martians.  He has little time to get this role down right but Lorenzo is nothing if not a consummate actor, if you can believe his opinion.  He manages to pull it off and save the deal but that's when things get complicated.  The existing government resigns and while the person he is portraying is found after his kidnapping, he is in no shape to resume his life in politics just yet so Lorenzo is talked into continuing for just a little longer.  Just how much longer that will be is anyone's guess.

I was hoping for more from this book.  It was clear early on where the story was going to go but I figured there were a few different twists and turns it could take and I was hoping it would go in some direction other than the completely obvious and typical one these stories take.  Unfortunately it didn't.  Not a bad story if you are looking for some light fluff but it's not deep in any sense of the word.  The characters are fairly shallow and the plot predictable.

Page count: 256p/5,113p ytd/220,047p lifetime

21:120 Marine Biology by Gail Carriger

Alex is a werewolf.  That in itself would not be a big deal.  His father is the beta of their pack and his brothers are all werewolves as well but Alex has known he was different.  He's not built like a werewolf but is on the scrawny side plus he's gay.  He never expected to survive his first change but not only has he continued to survive but now his alpha has given him to the merepeople who are looking for a selkie who has stolen a large sum of money from them and fled to the area.  Now Alex is teamed up with a seriously flirty merman who has the hots for him (and the feeling is definitely reciprocated) while he is trying to stay in the closet.  This case looks to be opening a lot of doors for Alex's future.

I loved the way things played out between these characters and found her take on the creatures in keeping with typical mythos while having some fresh little twists put on it.  Really enjoyable.

Page count: 38p/4,857p ytd/219,791p lifetime

20:120 Bind By the River by Stefon Mears

Terlik is on the run as his master is facing a challenger he doesn't know he can beat.  Terlik has instructions to travel as a messenger and seek shelter from the forest people but this means hard riding with no supplies or weapons.  This leads to him being alone, exhausted, starving, and unarmed when he meets a woman by the river who shares her food with him but reveals during their conversation that she has been sent to kill him.  She may regret it but she has taken the money and her honor demands that she fulfill her obligation.  Now Terlik must find a way to either outwit or outfight her if he wants to survive.

There is definitely more going on behind the scenes here and while I enjoyed the tale, there were a lot of unanswered questions (ok, I get that it's a me thing) and such a bigger world hinted at that I wanted to know more about.

Page count: 19p/4,819p ytd/219,753p lifetime

19:120 With a Little Help by Cory Doctorow

Mr. Doctorow's first foray into self-publishing with a reprint of several short stories and one commissioned piece.  I found the stories at the end more engrossing since they were typically longer and it was easier to really get into them.  The story of BIGMAC was definitely intriguing but I think my favorite was the one with the ancient millionaires being kept alive artificially and people trying to come up with the next big thing to intrigue them.  Nothing in the book was bad but some were definitely more memorable than others.  The origin stories were nice to have as well since I'm always interested where authors get their ideas from.

Page count: 360p/4,800p ytd/219,734p lifetime

18:120 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Gatsby is the mystery millionaire that every one wants to be seen with but no one actually seems to know anything about.  He throws lavish parties but without actually seeming to participate in more than a cursory way.  Nick Carraway moves into a small shack next door and Gatsby makes it a point to get to know him.  It doesn't take long for Nick to learn why.  Gatsby fell in love with Daisy (a cousin of Nick's) years ago and has done everything he could for the past several years to put himself in a position to try and woo her away from her husband, the brutish Tom Buchanan.  Now that he has Nick in his court, he feels like his dream is finally on the threshold of becoming reality.  Unfortunately, not all dreams end with a Happily Ever After.

It's interesting because I've been reading about this time in US History as part of our high school history course and excess is the big thing they keep talking about in that book and it is readily apparent in this as well.  Excess is everywhere with no regards to consequences.  It's sad to see and sadder to see how little we've learned since then.  It definitely seems like a cautionary tale of the time and one that seems to be misunderstood by many who just watched the movie.  Speaking of the movie, I want to find time to watch it so I can compare.  Yeah, yeah, I know it won't be as good as movies so rarely are but there can be good adaptations and I'm curious.

Page count: 180p/4,440p ytd/219,374p lifetime