Rilke is a down-on-his-luck auctioneer in Glasgow, Scotland who comes into a estate job that has seriously piqued his interest. In the converted attic of the McKindless residence, hidden among a huge collection of rare and hard-to-find first edition pornography, he finds some extremely disturbing photographs…. Proving that McKindless was more than just a reader, but an actual participant in some very nasty stuff!

I’m glad I found the time to read this. Thank you for allowing me hang on to it longer than usual. I’m not much of a “true crime” reader usually, but the subject matter of this particular book (pornography and other sexual deviations) greatly interested me. ;-) Apparently, this was a first novel from this Scottish author, Louise Welsh, and though I had a slightly difficult time with some of the colloquialisms, it wasn’t anything that took away from the story, and I was usually able to figure out what the author was referring to within a page or two max. An exciting read!

Though I didn’t care for some of the stories in this anthology all that much, I’m still glad I read it because I did enjoy the story by Ronda Thompson. :)

“Darkfest” by Amanda AshleyMy Rating: 3 stars
I found this one a bit chintzy and sappy. And then I realized I didn’t really care for Amanda Ashley’s full-length novel, Desire After Dark, that I’d read either. Romance buffs may enjoy it more but it didn’t have enough of an interesting story line to go along with it to hold my interest.

“Phantom Lover” by Sherrilyn KenyonMy Rating: 4 stars
I wasn’t too impressed with this story. It was a bit too “sappy romance” for me and the rest of the action was only mediocre. Though I’ve felt that the romance in Kenyon’s full-length Dark-Hunter novels was a bit sappy too, they generally had enough action and sub-plot going on to keep me interested anyway… although I do admit I get a bit glassy-eyed during the sappy love scenes that go on for 3 or 4 pages. But glossing over those parts, the rest of the story is still fairly engaging, which I didn’t really find to be the case as much with this short story, probably due in great part to the short-story format and not having enough space to really flesh out a good sub-plot.

“Under Her Spell” by Maggie ShayneMy Rating: 5 stars
Melissa St. Cloud is hired as the technical consultant for a television series, The Enchantress. But instead of simply correcting the technical inaccuracies related to Witchcraft in the show itself, she ends up having to banish an evil spirit who is trying to consume Alex’s life… literally!

I had mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I liked the background story that went along with the it. However, the way the author approached the parts dealing with Wicca and Witchcraft, though accurate, seemed very much like a Wicca 101 lecture. Yes, granted she’s trying to teach the reader something in the process, but for someone who’s already experienced with all that like myself, it simply came off as rote, and the kind of thing that should be saved for a non-fiction Wicca 101 text.

“A Wulf’s Curse” by Ronda ThompsonMy Rating: 7 stars
Elise is running from her uncle and the arranged marriage he’s set for her to a very cruel man. So she stows away in the wagon of a traveling road show, hoping to hitch a ride from London to Liverpool, and ends up right in the arms of the Beast Tamer, Sterling Wulf… and the Wulf part is more than just his last name! ;-)

This is my fist introduction to this author, and since I have some of her full-length novels coming in a bookring from CandyDarling, I had wanted to make sure I liked the author. Although this was strictly romance, I liked the author’s writing style enough, and there was enough of a storyline outside of the romance with the traveling road show, that I enjoyed it nonetheless. IMO, this was the best story in this anthology.

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up such problems. But when her guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles: the undead (Vampires) and the shapeshifters (more than just wolves).

This book had a completely unique way of looking at vampires, shapeshifters, and magic, and I’m not sure I cared for all of it. I definitely didn’t like the concept of vampires “piloting” other vampires remotely, nor the fact that they were portrayed as completely emotionless bloodsuckers. The concept of magic or technology being “up” was also a bit hard to get used to—especially the fact that only one or the other could be in effect at any given time. I’m much more synergistic in my approach to life and thus have a hard time dealing with absolutes. And this one definitely seemed a hard one to swallow, at least for me personally.

Overall, I’m not sure how I felt about this one. On the one hand, I enjoy the urban fantasy genre very much, but on the other, this was this author’s first novel and I’m sorry to say, you could sort of tell with the writing. There were many things that could’ve been done better. That said, I do hold out hope for the second novel in the series, due out in March of next year. By then, she may have refined her writing technique a bit more and I won’t be distracted by the lack of finesse in the writing. :) We shall see….

I was looking forward to reading this because I’m going to see the musical in Boston on November 3rd, and I wanted a more concrete understanding of the story before seeing it.

I enjoyed this take on The Wizard of Oz, as seen from the viewpoint of the Elphaba, later to be known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba was born in Munchkinland, a province of Oz, daughter to a Unionist minister and his privileged wife, a woman with what some called “loose morals”. She was born with green skin, extremely sharp teeth, and a very temperamental manner. Her father, Frex, thought Elphaba was his curse to bear, and Elphaba grew up feeling this guilt her entire life.

Eventually Elphie, as she was known to her friends, heads off to school at Shiz University in the Emerald City, where she meets Galinda, who later becomes known as Glinda the Good Witch of the North, and some other key figures relating to Oz politics. Elphie has a very strong personality and develops some strong ideals for which she fights. After her sister Nessarose, who was born without arms and eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the East, joins her at Shiz, and their Ama is killed for witnessing something she shouldn’t, Elphie runs away, fearing that as the headmistress predicted, she’s being used as a pawn for the evil Wizard of Oz.

So Elphie begins a campaign of her own to right what she believes is wrong in the world. Her actions eventually cause the death of her lover and her life seems to go downhill from there.

I really felt for Elphie in this book. Maguire portrays her not as the evil witch we have all become so familiar with through the famous movie, but instead as a misunderstood but headstrong character with strong ideals which she defends to the very end!

BookCrossing journal page for this book

Zahrah lives in the northern Ooni Kingdom, where fear of the unknown runs deep. She is born dada, with vines growing through her hair and believed to have special powers. Besides their fear of dada, the people of the Ooni Kingdom also gravely fear the Forbidden Greeny Jungle, which begins on the outskirts of their small village. But when Zahrah notices changes going on within her and is then faced with having to save Dari’s life, she’s ready to confront all her fears head on, and challenge everything she’s been taught.

This was a fun adventure. I enjoyed Zahrah’s trek through the jungle and the various creatures she met therein. Because this is a children’s book (ages 9–12), it also teaches a few important lessons, many which I believe strongly in to this very day. That one being to not believe everything you’re told if you don’t feel comfortable with it. It’s okay to challenge old, outdated beliefs to forge the way for the future. Another is that you are definitely stronger than you think when faced with seemingly impossible odds.

I really enjoyed this story. It was very atmospheric, and I enjoyed it more so because there wasn’t so much blood and murder as opposed to suspense and psychic happenings due to the haunted house. The characters were portrayed well, and though i can’t say that I really cared for David all that much, I had the same feelings of dislike towards Sally in the beginning as well… until I began to empathize with her situation a bit further along.

My only complaint about the book might be that sometimes I felt the paragraphs went on a bit too long for my taste, and that if they were split up, it might’ve been a bit easier to read. But I think a lot of that could also be due to the fact that I’ve been reading a lot of the more contemporary and/or YA authors lately, whom tend to stick to smaller paragraphs to make for easier reading. Certainly the paragraph lengths the author used here weren’t outside the boundary of acceptable writing. I’ve just found shorter to be better for me personally in holding my interest and keeping me from getting too distracted. Obviously a lot of contemporary authors have jumped on the same bandwagon.

My Review
Aislinn has always been able to see faeries, as could her mother and grandmother. But she’s always lived by Grams’s rules: Rule #3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries; Rule #2: Don’t speak to invisible faeries; and most importantly Rule #1: Don’t ever attract faeries’ attention.

But now the rules have changed, and Aislinn is no longer safe from the faeries that have begun stalking her. What is it they want from her? And how far are they willing to go to get it? Can Aislinn continue to live by the same rules, ignoring their existence, when she seems to be their prime interest?

I found this debut novel from Melissa Marr an interesting entry into the YA urban fantasy genre. There were a few grammatical mistakes here and there, presumably because this was an Advance Reader’s Edition. Like the faeries in Holly Black’s novels, these are not your sweet, winged creatures, but reflect the true spirit of the Fae and the various courts.

Going in, I wasn’t sure how I’d like this book, seeing as I’m not a huge fan of romances. But if it’s paranormal, you know I’ve gotta try it out! :P So I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I found that Roberts’, who tends to be too overly descriptive and flowery in the romances of hers that I’ve read, didn’t annoy me so much here. Probably because those descriptions were instead directed towards a different outlet. These descriptions nicely portrayed the beautiful landscapes and hills of Ireland. And even New York city, while the characters were there for awhile… I felt as if I were able to see it from the point-of-view of a tourist visiting for the first time. :D

Overall, a fun read, and I’m looking forward to the next two in the trilogy, both of which are waiting here on Mt. TBR. :D

Barney, Hooker, and friends are back, tearing up the race track, and tearing up the town! The action takes place in a wild race around Southern Florida and Concord, North Carolina, home of NASCAR. Barney and Hooker “borrow” a NASCAR trailer to save a friend, only to discover that in addition to the two race cars and their friend Gobbles in the back, there’s also a naked dead man wrapped in plastic! And that’s not all… turns out the cars house their own secrets as well.

Now on the run from a couple of hit men, the head of R&D at Huevo Industries, and the police for questioning on a murder they didn’t commit, Barney and Hooker team up with old pals Felicia and Rosa to clear their names, and try to figure out what’s going down in downtown!

This was another great Evanovich read which I enjoyed just as much as its predecessor Metro Girl. It had a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and you’re left wondering just what’s happening right up until the very end.

Raven is a Goth teen who lives in “Dullsville”... where nothing interesting ever happens! Until the Sterling family moves into the haunted house on top of Benson Hill, and the rumors start flying that they’re vampires since they’re never seen during the day.

Raven, who as a little girl proclaimed she wanted to be a vampire when she grew up, has had a strong attraction to the house even during the long years it sat empty. So she’s determined to uncover the truth about the spooky new family… especially the darkly handsome 17-year-old Alexander.

This was a quick and enjoyable teen book that ended on a cliffhanger, leaving me anxiously looking forward to the sequel, which unfortunately I don’t yet have. :( Despite the teen target audience, the author is good at keeping you wondering right up until the very end.