84:100 Dark Divide by Carrie Vaughn

A spin-off set in the Kitty Norville series but focusing on the strange relationship between Cormac and his new mental guest, Amelia, since he got out of prison and Kitty's arc is over. 

Cormac and Amelia have been asked to come to Donner Pass to investigate the death of one of the docents who starved to death in a cabin full of food.  It certainly seems to have a possible supernatural cause but is it merely some type of haunting based on the tragedy from the past or something even more sinister.

I thought that the twining of Cormac, a supernatural bounty hunter, and Amelia,a deceased witch, taking up residence in his head was a great idea when it first happened in the Kitty series and I really enjoy that Ms. Vaughn is now giving us stories of the two of them as they learn how to navigate the world and exploring how they can work together.


Page count: 94p/21,370p ytd/330,067p lifetime

83:100 Urban Enemies Anthology by Various Authors

We finally get to hear from stories from the Villains point of view in this new anthology.  17 of them in fact.  These are all from existing series with established worlds, most of which I didn't know previously or only in passing.  I bought it primarily for the stories from Kelley Armstrong and Seanan McGuire with interest in the ones from Jim Butcher,Kevin Hearne, Carrie Vaughn, and Faith Hunter and because I will usually get introduced to at least one or two new authors that look interesting.

To that end, I really enjoyed the two stories that I bought it for.  I felt that they did a great job of giving stories that enriched the worlds but at the same time served well as stand-alone introductions to them.  Butcher's didn't fare so well as even though I have read all the Dresden files books, I could barely remember this villain and didn't care about him or this story that much.  Kevin Hearne's from the Iron Druid is with characters that are later in the series than I have read but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the tale.  I enjoy the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn and maybe this serves a nice intro to newbies of the series but it just fell flat for me but really enjoyed Leo's story from Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series.  However, I do feel that one might be harder for readers not familiar with the world to get into.

The new author that stood out to me from this anthology was Diana Pharoh Franics with a tale from her Horngate Witches series.  Never heard of the author or the series before but definitely want to check it out based on this story. 

Other than these, none of the other stories really stood out for me.  Many of them were simply meh and just didn't interest me at all, some were total slogs to finish, and a few were ok but not interesting enough to me for me to go out and read more by that author.  So in all, 5 of the 17 were worth the price of the book, a few more were fun, but I'd say that at least half of the book was just not my cup of tea which was definitely disappointing.

82:100 Emergency Landing by Seanan McGuire

Another day, another flight, a woman wondering what her seat mates are going to be like this time and if they will leave her alone so she can nap.  A routine take-off until she sees missile-like objects falling on Atlanta and feels the plane jolt like it's being pushed off the group.  Now they are up in the air and the reports from her colleagues who work with the CDC are coming in and the news is devastating.  She alone on the plane understands what is happening down on the ground and now she must decide where they go from here.

Absolutely terrifying tale of something that seems all too plausible these days.

Page count: 22p/20,836p ytd/329,533p lifetime 

81:100 Duel or Die by Stefon Mears

Charles is driving over the hill to the beach to look for some spell components when his car just dies in the middle of a nowhere stretch of road.  Then a cloaked and hooded figure approaches which turns out to be his girlfriend's ex who is demanding a duel to satisfy his honor (gee, why would a woman ditch someone who wouldn't believe that she would do so unless compelled by magic?!).  Charles doesn't want to do this but given the choice between a duel to summon demons or being shot by  gun, well, he takes the duel.  And Charles has been around long enough that his dueling path will not be an expected one.

A fun tale with a nice twist at the end.

Page count: 22p/20,814p ytd/329,511p lifetime

80:100 The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Nassun is heading to Corepoint to take control of the Obelisks and end the Earth.  Essun is heading to Corepoint to open the Obelisk Gate and bring Father Earth's child, the Moon, back into alignment to end the Seasons.  Neither knows the other is heading there but it wouldn't matter as they both feel in their hearts that their decision is the only correct one.

Woven between their journey's is Hoa's story from the time before, a time without Seasons.  We finally get the history of the world and how it came to be in the state that it is now.  How humankind found the magic inside of all living things and attempted to harness it to serve them without ever considering the consequences.  How he and the other stone eaters were made, how the orogenes came about, how Father Earth lost his child.  All of it is revealed and how all of those things have led up to the confrontation between a mother and her child for the fate of the world.

Absolutely amazing finish to the series and I could barely put it down and basically didn't for the last 100 pages.  Such a rich world with incredibly complex characters that are so human that it's easy to relate to them, to hope and fear with them, even the ones that you can't like you can still at least empathize with to some degree.  No one fully good or evil, but all a mix, so human.


Page count: 445p/20,792p ytd/329,489p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 1st Quarter 2020

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.

Yep, trying to balance it all is seriously impacting my reading time to the point where I'm hoping to get my 100 books in for this year.  I have read more pages than I originally set out for so I guess that's something but still, it's been hard finding the time for reading (and this is made more aggravating by only reading half of some college books or just having to read tons of articles so I can't count them).  Not that it's slowing me down much on my book buying.  LOL

The new year rings in big with the fifth installation in the Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire.  The last couple have not really focused on the events from the first book but now we see what has happened to Jack since she left to go back to the Moors with Jill's body after those events.  Can't Wait!

Release date: January 7

Next up, we get to return to the Whisper Hollow series by Yasmine Galenorn that was on hiatus for a while.  Phantom Queen picks up with Kerris realizing that something is very wrong and going to speak Veronica, Queen of the UnLiving, who has been causing trouble in town.  When Veronica is worried, everyone should be.

Release date: January 27


Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire is the latest in the Incryptid series and in this one, we have Sarah as our narrator.  After she saved Verity, Sarah has been in a very dark place and not safe to be around anyone but maybe that's about to end.

Release date: February 25


Just a few weeks later Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs comes out.  The 12th book in the Mercy Thompson series, a Fae is loose in the Tri-Cities area, one who can look like anyone and if it bites someone it can control them as well.  Mercy has said that the area was under her protection but even after everything she and the Pack have been through because of that statement, nothing could have prepared them for this.

Release date: March 10

Last we get Wolf's Curse by Kelley Armstong, the second in the Kate and Logan YA duology set in the Women of the Otherworld universe as they try to survive the week at supernatural leadership camp after everything has gone to hell in handbasket.

Release date: March 31

79:100 The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

Bobbie, Peter, and Phyllis have had a lovely life as a middle class family in the early 1900s.  Father works but spends time with them in the evenings, mother is always around and making up stories and playing with them, and there are servants that attend to the mundane tasks.  Until one evening some men come and father goes away with them and the next day they have to pack up and move away from the city.  Now there are no servants and mother tells them that they are poor and she must write and hope to sell her stories to keep them fed and there are many days where there is just toast and jam to eat. Now the children don't go to school and must find ways to amuse themselves so they explore this new town of their and are constantly drawn to the Railway which provides many adventures and surprises along the way.

Definitely a book from another era so I tried to read it with that in mind and leave the bulk of my modern day thinking out of it.  The children wandering all over the town so much by themselves were fine and I do think the bits about the general kindness of the people there was appropriate given the time but having the old gentleman from the train solve all the problems and just happen to be the grandfather of the boy they rescue....a bit too deus ex machina for my tastes but I know that was common enough in these types of tales at the time.  In all, a sweet story of a bygone age.


Page count: 156p/20,347p ytd/329,044p lifetime