#SpooktasticReads: Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) – Book Review

Published Date: October 1, 2009

Publishing Co: Orbit

Pages: 357

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

“Miss Tarabotti was not one of life’s milk-water misses—in fact, quite the opposite. Many gentlemen had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice – that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation.”

Earlier this month, when I was yearning for a good werewolf story, I should have picked this up instead of the one I did. But what matters, is that I finally read this, having owned the ebook for a number of years.

Alexia Tarabotti is one of those female main characters that I love. Smart, rebellious, and incorrigible. Considered a spinster at the rough ol’ age of 26, Alexia is mostly a pain to her family. She’s apt to embarrass them at dinners, talking to scientists and aristocrats, about……gulp….intellectual subjects. Not to mention, she’s half Italian and her tan skin is an offense to their delicate pale senses. Her nose is just slightly too large and they will probably never find someone to marry her off to.

Lord Maccon is a werewolf and the head of BUR, essentially the police of supernatural creatures. Currently humanity knows of the existence of werewolves, vampires and ghosts. There may be a few others creeping about that they have no idea exist, like Miss Tarabotti herself. Lord Maccon is forced to endure several encounters with Miss Tarabotti after she is attacked by a rogue vampire. More perplexing still, every new mystery seems to happen in Miss Tarabotti’s presence. Lone werewolves and vampires are missing, and new ones appearing with no idea of what they are or the rules they must now live by. Every time he turns his back, another incident involving Alexia occurs.

Being the curious sort, Alexia begins gathering information after each incident and uses her contacts to find out more. If the police can’t figure this out, why, she will.

Love it or not, Lord Maccon can either work with Miss Tarabotti or……lock her up? That might be the only way to keep her out of it.

The woman is frustratingly intriguing.

This was just a wallop of fun. Steampunk, mystery, romance, strong characters and adventure. I could binge read the whole series in one go.

Blood Kissed (Lizzie Grace #1) – Book Review

Published Date: May9, 2017

Publishing Co.: ebook, no publisher listed

Pages: 330

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I was having a werewolf itch, so I perused some books that I already own and this was one of the options. It also had witches, another favorite of mine, so I sat down, ready for some good paranormal fun.

Lizzie and her witch familiar, Belle, moved and opened up shop on a werewolf reservation. Things are pretty quiet for a couple of months until Lizzie is asked to use some of her psychic ability to find a missing teenager. The quest leads to murder and the discovery of an extremely powerful villain. Lizzie helps the local werewolf Ranger (werewolf police) investigate and attempt to stop the bad guy before more people die.

Extreme lack of werewolf. Sure, the love interest is a werewolf, but the wolfiest he gets is sniffing the air and one howl, maybe two.

And Judas Priest, the amount of showers I had to read about Lizzie taking. I get it, you’re cleanly, let’s move on. Twice a day showers is a bit obnoxious and took up entirely too much of the story. If the showers were axed, there would have been more room for character development or world building.

I’ve read the first books to a couple of Keri Arthur series now and honestly, the main characters are all very similar. I feel mostly in appearance but in personality too. I have yet to be impressed with any of the series and this one is the same. It’s not bad but not something I’m likely to continue reading unless I’m bored and my options are limited.

Top 5 Oldest Books on My TBR List

I joined Goodreads just as a way to keep track of the books I already knew I wanted to read because I kept losing my list. Of course, the side effect was that my TBR blossomed from a meager 10-15 books to it’s now current state of 265. Periodically, I’ll go through the list and cut anything I decide that I’ll probably never read. So, I thought I would share the ones that have survived the cuts. (Although, I haven’t done one in awhile so that may change.) Two of them I’ve owned for years and just haven’t read yet.

“The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop.

The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected. 

The truth will get out, even if it kills them”.

” Katie is driving to work one beautiful day when a dead man jumps into her car and tries to eat her.  That same morning, Jenni opens a bedroom door to find her husband devouring their toddler son. 

Fate puts Jenni and Katie—total strangers—together in a pickup, fleeing the suddenly zombie-filled streets of the Texas city in which they live. Before the sun has set, they have become more than just friends and allies—they are bonded as tightly as any two people who have been to war together. 

During their cross-Texas odyssey to find and rescue Jenni’s oldest son, Jenni discovers the joy of watching a zombie’s head explode when she shoots its brains out. Katie learns that she’s a terrific tactician—and a pretty good shot. 

A chance encounter puts them on the road to an isolated, fortified town, besieged by zombies, where fewer than one hundred people cling to the shreds of civilization. 

It looks like the end of the world. But Katie and Jenni and many others will do whatever they have to to stay alive. Run, fight, pick each other up when they stumble, fall in love…anything is possible at the end of the world. “

” It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down. “

“Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago. Andrew has long known that magic was a brutal game requiring blood sacrifice and a willingness to confront death, but his many years of peace and comfort have left him soft, more concerned with maintaining false youth than with seeing to his own defense. Now a monster straight from the pages of Russian folklore is coming for him, and frost and death are coming with her.”

” Meet Jake. A bit on the elderly side (he turns 201 in March), but otherwise in the pink of health. The nonstop sex and exercise he’s still getting probably contribute to that, as does his diet: unusual amounts of flesh and blood (at least some from friends and relatives). Jake, of course, is a werewolf, and with the death of his colleague he has now become the only one of his kind. This depresses Jake to the point that he’s been contemplating suicide. Yet there are powerful forces who for very different reasons want – and have the power – to keep Jake alive. “

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson #10) – Book Review

Published Date: March 7, 2017

Publishing Co.: Ace Books

Pages: 371

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Several things happen at my house when I have a Mercy Thompson novel to read; dogs are taken out to do their business, the husband is shunned to the basement for video games, I shower and get into pajamas. Then it’s time to read undisturbed for as long as possible. Either it’s read in one sitting or two, this time it was two because I read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.

We enter on a fun pack video game night, Mercy’s game character has died so it’s time to bake some cookies. But alas, some of the most important ingredients are missing so she has to run up to the store. That’s when she’s abruptly kidnapped and carted off half way across the world by one of the world’s most dangerous players. Her bond to the pack has been cut off and she’s one her own with no one to back her up. She has no money and doesn’t speak the languages she hears.

The kidnapper is not being honest about why he took her and she’s been taught by Charles to escape at the first chance you have, so she uses her coyote wiles and does just that. She’s racing across Europe evading capture and searching for allies while Adam and friends race to meet this mysterious man and negotiate her release, not knowing that she’s already escaped his clutches.

Adam is barely keeping his wolf under control while he attempts to play nice with the monster that took his wife. Luckily, he’s brought along people that can help him be diplomatic when it’s the last thing on his mind. It’s going to take three werewolves, two vampires, and two goblins for cooler heads to prevail and rescue their favorite troublesome coyote.

In this case, besides the usual things I love about the series, I very much enjoyed the historical research and mythology of the Czech Republic. It’s not a history I’m familiar with so I really liked learning something new intertwined with everything else I enjoy about this world Briggs created.

Kissing Sin (Riley Jenson Guardian #2) – Book Review

Published Date: January 30, 2007

Publishing Co.: Dell

Pages: 390

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Well….uhm…huh.

Riley Jenson is a vampire werewolf hybrid. Such is rare but possible. She wakes up in a research facility but doesn’t remember entering or much about her time there. She escapes with the help of some horse shapeshifters. Then, has sex with one of them. Of course, the cock is the same ratio no matter in horse or human form. I think this is supposed to be sexy but I personally find it creepy.

For much of the book, Riley is running for her life but either she’s thinking about sex while running or having sex each time she stops. Then the bad guys catch up and she has to battle her way free, but don’t worry because she’ll still be thinking about the sex. I very much get that in this world sex is an integral part of werewolf life but how the fuck does she even have time for anything else? And quite frankly, I’m no prude but I was tired of reading about the fucking every couple of chapters or less. None of the sex scenes were really all that sexy. Minimal foreplay and then right to the action, done in minutes. If I’m going to read some erotic scenes, please make it worth my time.

There wasn’t much to make me connect with the main character, Riley. I much preferred all the male characters to her. The world building was different even for an urban fantasy novel, lots of attempted cross-breeding and strange scientific creations. There could be a lot to this world but it’s unfortunately filled with lame sex. The last third of the book was definitely the best. Lots of action and no time for sex. If more of the book would have kept that premise, I might consider continuing the series (especially since I have picked up several used copies of the installments over the years), but as it stands, I don’t care enough about the main character to continue the crusade within this world. The next book promises lots of unwanted sex with dangerous men while she’s undercover and if the sex was lame with guys she liked, I can only imagine the snooze fest that would be awaiting me if I decided to torture myself and pick up the next volume.

Kitty Goes to Washington – Book Review

Kitty Norville #2

3 out of 5 stars

Kitty Norville is a character that a lot of people seem to have a problem relating to, at least in the beginning of the series. To a point, it’s understandable. She’s a werewolf but not the bad ass she-wolf everyone is used to in virtually every urban fantasy werewolf story. She’s kind of a coward and rolls over easily. She’s jumpy like a cat instead of a fearsome predator. These attributes are actually why I keep reading. It’s a change from your usual she-kicks-all-the-ass-immediately-and-no-one-can-step-to-her urban fantasy trope.

This is the second book in the series and she’s slowly growing a little more backbone. She has been requested to speak in front of a committee in Washington D.C. on the behalf of vampires and werewolves. Creatures that were recently brought to public light. A scientist has been doing research on the virus’ that cause these different states of life and wants to continue to receive funding from the government to do so. As with all politics, there are others who hope to prove that vampires and werewolves should be exterminated. They are an affront to God. And yet others, who wish to use werewolves in the military as super soldiers.

Because Kitty is good at getting into trouble, she just might become a science experiment herself if she’s not careful.

Overall this series is okay. I keep reading because of the different type of heroine. The writing isn’t particularly strong but the action is interesting enough to see where this goes in the next installment of the series.

Home Improvement: Undead Edition – Book Review

3 out of 5 stars overall

I’m not a short story person, so I’m pretty proud of myself for reading this. It was nice having a book to just leave at work to read on my lunches and I found a couple new authors to look into.

If I Had a Hammer by Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse short story. Tara and JB are doing a little remodeling after their twins are born and release a negative spirit. Conveniently, their nanny is a psychic and helps to solve the mystery surrounding the spirit and how to get it to move on. 2.5/5 stars

Wizard Home Security by Victor Gischler
A wizard in a wizarding community has his house broken into and all his expensive spell materials stolen. This is the story of his funny failures at securing his place. (Example: a zombie bear sentry.) 3/5 stars

Curtsies & Conspiracies – Book Review

Finishing School Book Two

4 out of 5 stars

The Finishing School series is one that is perfect for burning through on a pleasant pre-autumn day on the back patio with your dogs. Who may or may not be trying to bust through the screen to ambush their arch nemesis….squirrels.

Classes continue and conspiracies also continue to arise. Sophronia and her friends are of course, smack in the middle of it all, per usual. There isn’t much of a purpose of laying out the plot line since it’s full of silly shenanigan fun. This isn’t a deep read but one in line with just thoroughly enjoying a romping good frollick.

Airships, gadgets, poison, mechanimals, ball gowns, vampires, werewolves, evil genius’, and spectacular inventions. Why couldn’t school have been like this for me?

Tempting Danger – Book Review

3 out of 5 stars

Tempting Danger has been in my TBR list for a long time. So I bit the silver bullet and bought it recently in a lovely little book haul.

I had high hopes and will have to admit, they weren’t quite met.

The urban fantasy tropes ran rampant throughout the entire novel. Strong/stubborn female MC who works in law enforcement (any form), dripping sex alpha werewolf male lead who just so happens to be rich and a playboy, and instantaneous love/lust. The use of practically every trope under the sun had me rolling my eyes almost as often as the terrible come-ons did. The one my mind refuses to forget, “Put yourself inside of me.”

Wait, what?

Did two horny teenagers that don’t know how to dirty talk just hook up?

Based on all of these things, you’re probably thinking that I hated it. I didn’t. There were a couple neat tweaks on the werewolves, other paranormal creatures and pretty good characters. I still had fun while rolling my eyes across my skull. I’ll give the second book in the series a try before I make a firm decision whether to continue.

Mongrels – Book Review

2 out of 5 stars

There may be some meaning to this story but it’s as hard to find as a needle in a haystack. It is well written but the prose is attempting to hide the lack of actual depth. It appears to be character-driven with plot playing second fiddle, but the characters are as lackluster as the plot. I’m not even entirely sure why I read it all the way until the end. Perhaps there was a little flicker of hope of something beautiful blooming from this dusty story. Nope. Just crab grass.

This is a coming of age tale involving a werewolf family. A will he, or won’t he, turn into a teenage werewolf like he so desperately wants? A family consistently on the run to hide themselves. Running from anything and everything like a bunch of sheep.

Wait? What? I thought you said this was about werewolves?!

Oh it is, I guess. The most unimpressive werewolves I’ve read about in a long time.

If you can imagine a trashy family, that happen to be werewolves, that break the law, live like scum and travel back and forth across the southern United States, well then you’ve just imagined this entire book. The end. Move along. Your imagination probably did it better anyway.