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Blood on the Bayou by Stacey Jay

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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Finally finished reading my “spare” book last night. It was Blood on the Bayou by Stacey Jay, and it’s the second in the “Annabelle Lee” series of urban fantasy. I did read the first in the series, but it’s been forever ago. The main character is Annabelle, who works for an organization that attempts to contain a scourge of mutated fairies.

Thanks to an attack by fairies and the interference of a cabal of mysterious, invisible magic workers, Annabelle has learned that she, too, can now perform feats of magic. The newfound ability would be more helpful if she knew how to wield it, and if it didn’t come with strings attached. She’s also in the midst of trying to figure out her personal life. Annabelle knows her boyfriend, Cane, loves her, but she’s not sure she wants to drag him down with her extra baggage. Enter Hitch, her ex-boyfriend, who is convinced the FBI is running an illegal lab in the bayou—a lab he’s been tabbed to destroy if he doesn’t want his wife and unborn baby to die. Annabelle is running herself ragged trying to gather intel, avoid the Big Man, keep Cane and Hitch away from one another, and, oh yeah, juggle her attraction to Tucker, one of the Invisibles.

I didn’t remember much of the original book, although it came back to me as I read. I enjoy urban fantasy with snarky, sarcastic heroines, but this particular one did nothing for me. Not only is Annabelle a functioning alcoholic, but the author turned her into a complete Mary Sue. Cane loves her, Hitch says he never stopped loving her, and now Tucker has the hots for her, as well. It was really too much. I’m not saying it wasn’t realistic, but I, personally, did not like it. Narrative could have been smoother, and I was as confused as Annabelle when it came to who she could trust and who was only using her. Worst of all, she wasn’t very nice to her cat.

Favorite lines:
♦ Does an invisible man count as a man? If a penis you can’t see falls in the forest is it really a penis at all?
♦ Not the master of my own destiny, not even the master of my own cat.
♦ I don’t have time for bullshit. Even sweet-smelling bullshit.
♦ “Can you even take a shit without the Big Man leaning over the toilet telling you it’s coming out okay?”
♦ I’m already seeing my life flash before my eyes; I don’t need to see it flashing before anyone else’s.

I didn’t particularly like this book, and there wasn’t much resolution at the end. I'm giving it two stars. I would have given it three, but I'm knocking one off for Annabelle's shoddy treatment of her cat.

Vampire Moon by J.R. Rain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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I completed Vampire Moon last night. This is the second book in the “Vampire for Hire” urban fantasy series by JR Rain. Main character is Samantha Moon: mother, private eye, vampire.

While her personal life is in shambles, Sam’s PI business is doing well. She finds herself on the trail of a notorious crime lord, while at the same time protecting a young woman from her abusive husband. As for her personal life, Sam may be the PI, but it’s her ex, Danny, who’s being a dick by not allowing her to see or speak to their children. Vampire or not, a woman can only be pushed so far, and Sam makes some hard choices in regards to meting out her own brand of justice.

Loved it! I admit to being vindictive, and I delighted in the retribution that Samantha doled out. In each case, it was justified. She’s a marvelous character—still learning about her own morphology, tough and tender, vicious and vulnerable. I enjoy her sarcastic wit, and the dialog between characters was entertaining.

Favorite lines:
♦ I flipped open the cell. “Moon Agency.” // “Is this the Moon Agency?” asked a male voice. // “Would be a hell of a coincidence otherwise.”
♦ One of the articles said that focusing on breathing was a great way to unclutter thoughts, but what if someone didn’t need to breathe? The article wasn’t very vampire friendly.
♦ Orange County’s only five-star hotel sat high on a bluff, which, if you asked me, looked exactly like a cliff.
♦ Now my fingers and thumbs were capped with very strong-looking nails. Not claws, per se, just ten very thick and slightly pointed nails. Okay, fine. They were claws. I had fucking claws. Sometimes I hate my life.
♦ If I wasn’t careful, I could step on my wings, which I had done before and it wasn’t the most graceful thing to witness. A vampire stumbling on her own wings didn’t exactly grace covers of supernatural romance novels the world over.
♦ Can’t have a big, bad werewolf picking off the surgically-enhanced ‘Desperate Housewives of Orange County’ one by one like so many slow-moving, top-heavy gazelles.
♦ “White guy. Thin. Black hair. Black eyes. Probably brown eyes, but they looked black in here.” // “Anything else about him?” // “He was wearing a sign around his neck that said, ‘I am exhibiting suspicious behavior.’ Does that help?”
♦ Vampires can chew gum. Wrigley should consider a new slogan: "So good, even a vampire won't projectile vomit."

This appealed to and satisfied my appetite for comeuppance. ALL THE STARS!

Sarah's Inheritance by Katherine Kim

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I stayed up a bit late to finish reading Sarah's Inheritance by Katherine Kim last night. This is book one in the author's "Spirits of Los Gatos" series of urban fantasies. The main character is Sarah Richards.

Sarah is devastated to learn that her beloved grandmother, Rosemary, has passed away. She always meant to travel across the country to visit her, but Sarah was reluctant to face the wrath of her overbearing mother, who was determined to keep Sarah as far away from Rosemary as possible. However, when Sarah finds out she inherited her grandmother's house, she travels to California. There, she encounters some of Rosemary's friends and neighbors and also finds herself caught up in a battle between supernatural creatures and her grandmother's friends, who aren't fully human. Sarah also learns she's a witch, and she begins to read her gran's journals, hoping to learn more about her grandmother and her own abilities.

This was fast-paced and exciting. I liked seeing Sarah come out of her shell and make new friends on her own. I would have appreciated more world-building, but the reader gained information as Sarah did--in bits and pieces. Her mother was a loathsome human being. She didn't just deserve a bitch-slap. No, she deserved to be bitch-slapped to death. What a despicable piece of work. There were some formatting issues, most notably the fact that some words were split between one line and the next. That's fine. What isn't fine is when they were split in no sensible manner. Even worse, sometimes it was only one letter that carried over to the next line. I mean, if you have space to put the dash/hyphen, you have space for one more letter! Annoying. I also noted several editing issues. The worst was Sarah's name. Is she Sarah Elizabeth Richards, or Sarah Rose Richards?

Favorite line: So far it had been the most bizarre and exciting day she'd ever had, and it wasn't even noon yet.

Wishing I could give this 3.5 stars. It was enjoyable enough that I'll bump it up to four.

Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I took two extra days off from vacay, and I used today's downtime to finish reading Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews. It's the second in the "Kate Daniels" spinoff, "Wilmington Years". The story is mainly in Kate's first-person pov, with some passages devoted to Curran's pov.

Having established a home base in Wilmington, Kate and Curran are attempting to maintain a low profile while raising their son, Conlan. Since plans often go awry, their peace is interrupted by a man who comes to beseech them for help. An entire town nearby is being held hostage to an ancient magic that demands human sacrifices. To sweeten the pot, the man offers a vast amount of acreage right in the midst of the trouble area. Kate and Curran agree to help, not so much for the land as to save innocent lives. What they encounter when they travel to Penderton is nothing like anyone has seen before. Massive, Ice Age shapeshifters combined with a dark, unknown magic have them stumped. Kate, however, has magic in spades, and she reaches the decision to embrace it and unleash the full power of a Shinar Queen on the enemy.

Fantastic story! I love the continued world-building as well as snippets of what's been happening in Atlanta since Kate and Curran abdicated their positions in the Pack. Characters were fully realized, including the villains. Fight scenes were exciting, bloody, and brutal. The story was also laced with romance and humor.

Favorite lines:
♦ The world was filled with fools, and I was clearly the dumbest of them all.
♦ "When you find freaky shit in the scary woods, you don't poke it with a stick."
♦ "I trust you with my life, not with yours."
♦ "After you killed the skull mage, you turned to me and you were smiling. A big, bright smile. Old Kate smile." // "Old Kate?" // "Dangerous Kate. Stabby Kate. My Kate."
♦ "I didn't do a thing. I talked to them a bit and then their negotiator self-destructed. Not voluntarily." // "I've negotiated with you before. That tracks." // "Ha. Ha."
♦ If I claimed the land and then faceplanted to my death on the street, I'd never live it down.
♦ It felt almost cheerful: a cozy little picnic, just us and some friends, eating by the scary woods, across from a mass grave and a burning pit filled with corrupted, toxic ashes.
♦ I wasn't close enough to see her face, but her body language was clear enough. It was the Ice Age version of WTF.

Magnificent, engrossing, and satisfying. I only wish it had been longer. Five stars.


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Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I took advantage of having a day off with no plans or obligations to read Winter Lost cover to cover. Woo! It's the 14th installment in author Patricia Briggs' "Mercy Thompson" urban fantasy series. The main character is Mercy Thompson Hauptman--coyote shifter, auto mechanic, and mate to Alpha werewolf Adam.

When Mercy's brother Gary shows up, disoriented by a powerful spell, it's up to her and Adam to travel to Montana in search of a resolution. On the way, they encounter a brutal winter storm, magical in nature, that strands them in a lodge with a small wedding party. There they learn that Gary may have stolen a powerful Fae artifact and stashed it somewhere in the lodge. The artifact is important to the wedding ceremony, and without it the very end of the world may result. As Mercy and Adam apply themselves to finding the object, Mercy must also deal with the debilitating effects of battling with the last artifact she encountered, the Soul Taker. Together, Mercy and Adam must sort friend from foe and learn to take some things on faith.

The book certainly kept me captivated. Briggs is a deft story teller, and this story featured layers upon layers. It deviated from the norm, in that it wasn't wholly in Mercy's first-person point of view, and there were time skips. I can't say as that I liked that, but it did add nuances to the story that wouldn't have existed had we only been seeing things unfold through Mercy's eyes. I also prefer it when Mercy and Adam interact with the pack, but for most of this book they were separated from the others. However, we did get to see what was going on with the rest of the wolves, as told in short, "interlude" chapters.

Favorite lines:
♦ It's always an uncomfortable adjustment when the rules of the world get rewritten over the course of a conversation.
♦ "I saw a frost giant about a couple of horses." I had a sudden thought. "The eggs didn't make it, did they?"
♦ "Of course he's an extraordinary idiot. Take any skill and add years of practice and you get extraordinary."

A bit of a departure for this series, but it worked and I enjoyed it. Five stars.

Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I stayed up past my bedtime last night to finish Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter. It's the 6th book in her "Soulwood" urban fantasy series, starring Nell Ingram, a paranormal of indeterminate origin and a member of the paranormal investigative unit, PsyLED.

When the local MOC vampire, Ming Zhane, contacts PsyLED to report a dead body on her property, Nell responds to the call along with her boss, Rick, and her boss-boss, FireWind. Nell notes that Ming and the other vamps are acting strangely, and the discovery of the dead body is only the beginning of a puzzle that involves ancient, powerful vampires, a deck of cards known as the Blood Tarot, and the interdimensional creatures called arcenciels. Nell later realizes she's been used as bait and that she is now a target of the vamps who seek the Blood Tarot. When they trespass on her property, Soulwood, Nell uses her connection to the land to defend herself and her sisters. This time, however, her sisters step up to help her. It will take their combined plant magic to defend their home, thwart their enemies, and save their friends. Oh, and Nell is in the midst of planning her wedding, too.

Captivating and difficult to set aside. Hunter is a deft writer who manages to combine top-notch world building with fast paced plots and violent battles, and she also injects both romance and humor into her stories to balance them out. I enjoy Nell's relationship with Occam, and her determination to do what needs to be done, even at her own peril.

Favorite lines:
♦ "Well, that's good they got souls. Now when they die they can go to hell like proper evil beings."
♦ "Don't get your throat torn out or your head ripped off." // "Not on my list of ways to die." // "You have a list of ways to die?" // "You don't?"

Loved it! Five stars

Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I began reading Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews after midnight, and I finished it this afternoon. It's a long novella set in the same verse as the authors' "Kate Daniels" series. This spin off follows Kate, Curran, and their son Conlan as they try to forge a new life for themselves in Wilmington.

Kate and Curran want only to keep a low profile as they renovate an old fortress into their new home base. Things don't always go as planned, however, and when they learn that the son of one of their workers has been kidnapped, Kate goes forth to rescue him while Curran remains behind. Kate has no intention of revealing her true identity, but blood will tell. She finds herself confronting human traffickers, the People (navigators of vampires), some wayward shapeshifters, and a demi-god in her quest. Kate, however, has never backed down from a fight.

Marvelous! I've been missing these characters, and although this book was shorter than the others, I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were some exciting fight scenes, interspersed with the humor that always added that extra oomph to the original series. It was interesting to read some of this in Conlan's point of view and epically hilarious that Curran deemed Kate's temper far more dangerous than the battle he and Conlan and their allies waged to protect their new keep. One of my favorite characters was Cuddles, the enormous donkey that Kate rides on her mission.

Favorite lines:
♦ "Wilmington is too small for both of us. It's either Red Horn or me, and I just finished painting my second living room."
♦ When outgunned, open with a brick to the face.
♦ Cuddles picked up the pace, clopping her way on the crumbling highway like she had some place to be and needed to get there. Horses could be convinced to go faster or slower, but donkeys had a mind of their own, so I gave thanks to the donkey gods and enjoyed the ride.
♦ "Look at that evil lair, Cuddles. No ziggurats, no ritualistic poles with skulls on them, no giant faces carved anywhere or big metal fire braziers. These modern evil god followers just don't care to put in the work."
♦ "When you sink that low, you have to expect a reckoning."

Stellar! Five stars!


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Motherducking Magic by Michelle Fox

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



After reading the short story/prequel, I went right for the first official book in the "Bad Magic Bounty Hunter" series, which was Motherducking Magic, by Michelle Fox. Ironically, it turns out that what I read as a short story was chapter one of this book. Huh.

Bounty hunter Sylvie is on the trail of a shifter who skipped out on bail. Since her magic is weak, she must rely on charms she's purchased, a tracking spell, and her own grit and determination. In this instance, however, things quickly go off the rails. A vampire, who's also searching for the missing shifter, throws his hat in with Sylvie's search. As if having a tag-along isn't annoying enough, Sylvie soon learns the shifter has stolen a powerful magic relic that the High Priestess of the Witch Council will literally kill to get back. When the shifter's trail grows cold, Sylvie is accused of being in cahoots with him. Now she has the Council guards on her own tail, and she's having to rethink just who the villains are in this drama.

The story started out lighthearted and humorous. I enjoyed Sylvie's sarcastic wit and her ability to get things done with the limited amount of magic she has. However, as the story progressed, things took a darker turn. And then...it ended. WTF? The author had a "please don't hate me for the cliffie" note at the end, but yeah. I'm not feeling too charitable at the moment.

Favorite lines:
♦ The whole outfit was overkill. My job never got as exciting as my outfit could handle.
♦ She was in a pickle of shit.
♦ All fun and games until someone gets dumped in a ditch.

I was ready to give this a solid four, but I'm annoyed enough at the ending to bump it down to a three.

Burn the Night by Zahra Stone

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Wednesday evening, I finished reading Burn the Night by Zahra Stone. It's the first book in "The Enforcers" urban fantasy series. Story is in first-person point of view of the main character, Raven Black.

Raven is a supernatural of indeterminate origin. She works for the SIA, which polices supernaturals, along with her werewolf partner, Carter. When humans begin disappearing and are found dead and mangled days later, Raven and Carter are on the case. Their investigation leads them to a nightclub owned by vampire Nate Wilder. He seems willing to cooperate, but Raven isn't about to trust him completely. In addition to her investigation, Raven is also battling her attraction to Carter, as well as being subjected to a battery of tests that the director of the SIA insists on to find out once and for all what manner of supernatural Raven is. When things come to a head, it's going to take powers that Raven didn't know she possessed to save herself, her partner, and to solve the case.

This story clipped along at a good pace and I was really enjoying it...until the latter part of the book. For one thing, Raven and Carter went from being partners of several years to having a relationship with very little transition in between. Also, TRIGGER WARNING, towards the end of the book, Raven was beaten severely, as in nearly beaten to death with a baseball bat. It was distressing to read, and I thought the author could have chosen another way to force Raven's powers to manifest. The ending was quite abrupt. I was waiting to see the villain get well-deserved comeuppance, but that happened off screen. I was left feeling cheated. Finally, this huge editing error: ( Spoilers )

Favorite line: She had ovaries of steel.

This was heading for an easy four, but too many annoyance factors drop the rating to three.

Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I finished the book Reserved for the Cat last night. It's by Mercedes Lackey, and it's part 5 of her "Elemental Masters" series.

The story begins in France, with ballet dancer Ninette Dupond being called upon to replace the injured star of the Paris Opera Ballet. Ninette's debut as the prima is a smashing success...so successful, in fact, that the star herself insists she be ousted. With few options other than prostitution, Ninette is in despair. That is, until a tabby cat begins speaking to her, advising her to travel to England and assume the identity of a famous Russian ballerina. In the relatively small town of Blackpool in the 1920's, who will guess at the subterfuge? Unfortunately for Ninette, the real Nina learns of her deception and vows vengeance. Even more unfortunately, the real Nina is no more. She has been consumed and absorbed by an Elemental--one who now has its sights set on Ninette.

I've always loved Lackey's high fantasy stories. This was more of an urban fantasy, set as it was in a familiar setting yet peopled with magic wielders and creatures. The story was beautifully written with lush descriptions and amazing characterizations. However, I had trouble getting lost in the book. It failed to hold my attention, in spite of Lackey's masterful prose. This was purely subjective on my part.

Favorite lines:
♦ There was a Minister for practically everything else in the government, there damned well ought to be a Minister of Magic!
♦ "When a Scotsman butchers a pig, he uses everything but the squeal."

Alas, not even the talented Mercedes Lackey has eschewed the 'holding my breath' line:

♦ He took a deep breath in a gasp, and in that moment, Ninette found she was holding her breath and did the same.

I'm giving this four stars. It probably deserves five, but again, I found it difficult to get engrossed in.