126:120 Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Dina Demille is working hard to establish her Inn as a safe place and secure her place as an Innkeeper when something starts killing dogs in the neighborhood and she can tell that it's not going to be satisfied with that for long.  She talks to the new werewolf in the neighborhood to take care of the problem but when it doesn't look like Sean will, she decides that regardless of her position of neutrality she must take care of this menace to protect herself, her Inn, and her neighbors.  What follows just goes to show why you don't mess with the Innkeepers.

A new series by Ilona Andrews, the husband-wife team of the Kate Daniels series.  Completely new setting that has the feel of urban fantasy but goes more appropriately into the fantasy genre as our werewolves and vampires come from other planets and our Innkeepers like to go shopping among the stars.  I found the premise intriguing and well executed.  I liked that while there was some exposition it was woven well into the story instead of long dumps of it for no apparent reason which I think tends to help things flow better.  There is a lot to explore in this world, especially since when dealing with an Inn any race can stop by and stay so we are not dealing with even the same species book after book which opens up so many possibilities.  I look forward to their next foray into the universe, not as much as the next Kate Daniels book but that one is now well established and I'm well hooked.  *big grin*

Page count: 181p/33,738p ytd/178,138p lifetime

125:120 Shadowland by Karen Chance

A Cassie Palmer novella.  A bomb has gotten through all the security and blown Cassie to bits which sends John on a mission to kill his father whom he blames for killing Cassie....except Cassie is not really dead but instead stuck in a time loop thanks to her Pythia powers.  She is unable to escape the loop but even when she dies, she comes back and repeats the pattern.  The only way for her to get unstuck in time is to have all those who were in the room with her back together again and then stop the bomb from ever going off.  So much easier said than done when John was there but is off in the demonrealms hunting his father.

A fun little novella and my favorite part by far was seeing how Cassie develops when faced with the impossible scenario where only she seems to remember what is going on.

Page count: 54p/33,557p ytd/177,957p lifetime

124:120 The Ancient Near Eastern World by Amanda H. Podany & Marni McGee

Middle-school The World in Ancient Times series by Oxford Press.  Looking at the kingdoms of the Middle East including Mesopotamia and Babylon as well Hammarabi, Gilgamesh, the founding of the Jewish religion and Israel, the five great kingdoms and their relationships, the last Mesopotamian king, and the rise of the Persian Empire.

I really love how the book always takes time to explain how we know the things that we do, what we have found, and why we believe what we do about those findings.  It brings it alive for me much better than just a dry recitation.  There are also stories of people who lived during that time, not just the kings but the regular people as well.  Truly one of the most fun history series for kids I've come across.

Page count: 174p/33,503p ytd/177,903p lifetime

123:120 White Trash Zombie Apocalypse by Diana Rowland

The 3rd book in the White Trash Zombie series.  Angel is working hard to get her life on track now that she's a zombie and will live much longer than she ever expected and it's actually going ok. She has a sort of boyfriend who is a cop and good to her, things with her dad are rocky but better than they ever have been in the past, she has friends who care about her and have her back, she has a good job that supplies her with brains, and now she is even studying for her GED.  Unfortunately, there is still Saberton out there who kidnapped her and forced her to create a zombie child, Phillip.  Now there is a zombie movie being filmed in her small town and things definitely don't seem quite right.  Phillip is showing up there and is in bad shape, people are chasing her down again, and the whole zombie-world seems to be going absolutely crazy.  Angel is going to need to keep all her brains about her to get through it all.

Ok, this series seems like it should be up there in the fluff department with the Queen Betsy books but it really isn't.  The characters grow and change from book to book and deal with situations as well as they are able.  Angel continues to take leaps and bounds in her development as we see what a huge heart she has but also what a good brain she actually has as she wants to learn more about the science behind the zombie parasite.  She doesn't want handouts but isn't above calling in favors when the situation warrants it.  I honestly really like her and how believable she is (ok, except for the whole zombie part).  A bummer I'm done with all her books for now and will have to wait probably another year for the next one.  I do have the first book in another series by the same author and I hope she takes the same care with those characters.

Page count: 311p/33,329p ytd/177,729p lifetime

122:120 A House at Cobb End by Karen Chance

A super short story in the world of Cassie Palmer featuring Pritkin.  John is searching for just the right house to bring his new wife home to upon their marriage in less than a month's time.  The problem is nothing seems quite right until he sees a listing for the perfect home only to find out that it's not supposedly available due to haunting circumstances.  Does anyone actually think this will stop Pritkin?

While very short, Pritkin's personality is very much in tact and we get to learn a bit more about his early childhood in this one.  A nice little read.

Page count: 10p/33,018p ytd/177,418p lifetime

121:120 A Family Affair by Karen Chance

A short story set in the world of Cassie Palmer featuring Pritkin.  Pritkin's father has agreed to a deal with John where if John goes and recaptures this mega-demon, he will stop trying to kill Cassie.  Pritkin agrees but the chase he is led on is more than he bargained for and of course, once Cassie finds out about it she is bound and determined to go after him which is the last thing he wanted   Just how crazy will it get before the end...that is always the question when those two are involved.

A fun side story and I love seeing more of Pritkin.  Mircea has been so absent lately and I miss him but I've always been kind of partial to Pritkin so I like seeing more of his history and relationship with his father and his demon side.

Page count: 46p/33,008p ytd/177,408 lifetime

120:120 Day of the Dead by Karen Chance

A short story set in the Cassie Palmer universe but features Tomas who had been Cassie's roommate in the first book and then switched sides and disappeared after stuff went down.  Now he is back in his native town of South America hunting down his old master, the one who had turned him.  He knows that it's almost impossible for him to succeed but he feels he has nothing to lose at this point.  While scouting things out, he finds much more than he bargained for...

A fun little side tale in the universe.  Leads me to believe we have not seen the last of Tomas.

Page count: 52p/32,962p ytd/177,362p lifetime