15:120 Ever After by Kim Harrison

The 11th book in the Hollows series.  The ley line Rachel inadvertently created in the Ever After has gone from a little leaky to disrupting all the lines and is in the process of collapsing the Ever After.  If it can't be fixed soon, the Ever After will disappear and all the demons with it.  Rachel and Al know that this is the doing of Ku'Sox.  Heck, all the other demons know it too but are too scared of him to do anything so instead they have shifted the responsibility onto Rachel since it is her line.  Fix it or we will kill you before we die.  Ku'Sox of course has more planned than just trying to get Rachel killed.  He has been having her old boyfriend, Nick, and Jenks's son, Jax, helping him steal Rosewood babies and giving them the enzyme that helped Rachel to survive so he can bread more sun-walking demons thus giving the demons in the Ever After more hope and reason to go after Rachel instead of him.  Can Rachel fix the lines in time to save her skin and keep Ku'Sox from continuing whatever it is he's plotting?  And even if she can, what will it end up costing her?

I absolutely love this series but this book had me screaming probably more than any other I can remember.  The choices are impossible and the unthinkable happens when favorite characters die.  Yeah, there's your spoiler.  Ms. Harrison pulled no punches with this one and it's hard.  I'm only glad that we deal with the aftermath and didn't get actual death scenes.  Pretty sure I would have had a real hard time with that.  Otherwise, another incredible installment in this series and I'm not saddened that we will have to wait another year for the next one.  Only two more til the series is over and I still have no idea where Rachel will be when it does.

Page count: 435p/3,528p ytd/147,948p lifetime

14:120 Marika by Andrea Cheng

A story of a girl growing up in Budapest during WWII.  A girl with a Jewish last name and a broken family.  Her father is always thinking ahead, having her and her brother learn French and German, practicing the Catholic religion, taking Latin at school.  But when the war comes, none of that matters because of their last name.  They must wear the stars and move from their home.  They are separated.  They are shown kindness and evil and their lives are changed.

Based loosely on the story of the author's mother and from a child's perspective.  The story really starts when Marika is about 6yrs old and continues by touching on major points in her life through the German occupation and release by the Russians when she is about 14yrs old.  Rather than one continuous story, it's highlights of her memories which gives it a poignancy of it's own.  This is the child telling us her story as she remembers it.  Tidbits of the war but that seems so far away to her and the separation of her parents is a much bigger trauma in her young life.  Simply but beautifully told.

Page count: 163p/3,093p ytd/147,513p lifetime

13:120 Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey

A combination of the first 5 Wool books.  I'm not going to try and remember what happened in each one as they really make for a cohesive whole and I can't remember where one left off and the next began.  We come upon this place, a huge underground silo that houses thousands of people.  There is rationing of supplies, materials, food, and children.  Life is hard and the only way to see the outside is through cameras whose lenses get dirty.  This leads to the greatest punishment, "Cleaning", for the greatest crime, talking about going outside.   The story starts with the Sheriff voluntarily going outside to clean after his wife was sent out 3yrs prior.  He is strapped into a suit, given some air to complete the task tho not much more, and sent outside.  The view he sees is magnificent, so much different than what they are shown inside, so he cleans and goes to find his wife.

Now the Mayor and Deputy must find a new Sheriff and they settle on someone from Mechanical.  Bernard, Head of IT, is in disagreement and now things start going downhill quickly.  The Mayor instates Juliette over Bernard's wishes and on her way back up to her office from talking to Juliette (150 or so floors away), she lets Bernard know her decision.  She doesn't make it back to her office.  Juliette's first task as Sheriff is figuring out who poisoned the Deputy's water canteen which led to the Mayor's death and she must do this under Bernard's watchful eye as The Order, the rules they live under, promote the Head of IT to acting Mayor until an election can be held.  Bernard has his own secrets tho...about what lies outside.

I don't want to delve further into the plot here as I don't wish to give away too much.  This was a book club read and at first I couldn't figure out where it was going but it soon became apparent and the question was how would it all end.  Several things have to all weave together just so and Mr. Howey does a credible job of putting all the pieces in the right places.  Very dystopian and has many aspects that remind me of 1984.  I'm not sure if I will continue reading (there are two more novels after this) mostly because I liked where this ended and I'm almost afraid of where it would go from there.  They are on my wishlist for now so I don't forget as I debate it.

I will say tho, that it is not worth buying these individually.  The first couple were very short, novellas length, so just buy the omnibus edition if you are interested.  Definitely recommended for those who like Orwell's 1984 and even Huxley's Brave New World.  I felt this slotted in nicely with those.

Page count: 464p/2,930p ytd/147,350p lifetime

12:120 Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

The 6th book in the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series.  Isabelle is the daughter of a rich merchant with a stepmother and two stepsisters.  That is where the traditional tale ends as she has freedom and manages the household well, gets on decently with her stepmother and quite well with her stepsisters.  She prefers to speak her mind and doesn't have many suitors but she's okay with that and sees herself setting up her own herbal shop in a few years with the knowledge she has been getting from Granny.  That is, until the night when she is walking home from Granny's through the woods and is attacked by a wolf and bitten.  The next morning, she is taken from her home and escorted to the Duke's house and told to remain there for 3mos.  No explanation is given until the Duke greets her and informs her that he is a werewolf and is sorry for having bitten her but they have no idea how he became a werewolf so have no idea if she will turn or not. Thus begins her new life, one she could never have imagined.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one as usual.  Just a fabulous series.  Yes, I saw where it was going but there are always sidetracks along the way which are great fun and they are such lovely tales.  My biggest complaint is I have no idea when the next one will be out.

Page count: 408p/2,466p ytd/146,886p lifetime

11:120 Undead and Unappreciated by Mary Janice Davidson

The 3rd book in the Queen Betsy series.  Things are still tripping up poor Betsy.  The vampires running her bar, Scratch, that she inherited after killing the last owner are total jerks.  Now the Ant has announced that she is pregnant and Sinclair has informed her that this is not going to be Betsy's only half-sibling.  Apparently the Ant was pregnant by Betsy's dad before they were married and had given the baby up for adoption.  When Betsy and Sinclair go to question the Ant about it, they discover that the Ant is missing the memories for almost an entire year which includes much of the pregnancy, birth, and first few months.  The Book of the Dead tells of The Queen's sister who is the Devil's daughter who is destined to rule the Earth so of course now Betsy just HAS to meet her new sister.  Turns out Laura is a super sweet girl raised by a minister and his wife who just happens to have command over hellfire.  Nothing that is going to come between sisters.  But then there is Sinclair....

Yep, completely fluff and bubblegum.  It's simple and fun and nothing serious.

Page count: 271p/2,058p ytd/146,478p lifetime

10:120 Underworlds: Revenge of the Scorpion King by Tony Abbott

The 3rd book in the Underworlds series.  Owen, Dana, Jon, and Sydney have followed Loki into the Babylonian Underworld in an attempt to keep him from gaining control over the Babylonian monsters in his quest to set fire to Midguard (Earth), destroy Odin, and become ruler of Asgard.  In order to stop him, they must fight each of the monsters on their way up the tower to get the stones that control them and keep them from Loki.  Can four children manage to do what so many heroes have failed?  And what happens if they can't?

Another fast-paced adventure book for younger readers.  Nick continues to love the series and taking delight in telling me to catch-up.  Again, a great fun read for those who are just getting into chapter books and want something with action and adventure.

Page count: 103p/1,787p ytd/ 146,207p lifetime

9:120 The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

The 5th book in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series.  The Queen is dead and The Tradition loves having a widowed king with a beautiful daughter to play with.  There are so many tragic endings with an evil stepmother and Godmother Lily is just not going to allow any of them to play out so instead she disguises herself and becomes Queen Sable, the evil stepmother, and while she plays her part well she is also keeping an eye out for Princess Rosamund's safety and any nasty tricks The Tradition will play to bring about a less than Happily Ever After.  Princess Rosamund knows nothing of the Godmother's presence in her life and is also keeping an eye out for The Tradition so when a Huntsman chases her into the woods, she is expecting a Snow White type Tradition of being saved by dwarves and finding her Prince Charming.  Instead, the dwarves that rescue her are mean and chain her to the kitchen to be their servant.  Godmother Lily discovers this and manages to help her escape but when she is put into an enchanted sleep, two strange princes show up out of nowhere.  Now she has princes in tow and upon returning home, they learn of the King's death.  Now Princess Rosamund and Godmother Lily must work together and with The Tradition to keep the kingdom from being torn apart by war but will this end up with a Happily Ever After for Princess Rosamund and her fair prince?

I just really love this series.  The way it pokes fun at the traditional fairy tales and turns things around is so cleverly done.  This one moved well for the most part with only a few slow chunks here and there and I think my biggest complaint is the cover art since Rosamund is a blonde and in the book it even mentions how she's more of a Sleeping Beauty stereotype rather than a Snow White but the cover shows her with looking much more Snow White.

Page count: 408p/1,684p ytd/146,104 lifetime