'Blood Price' by Tanya Huff

Price: $6.99
ISBN: 0756405017
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 272pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

I was in my favorite used bookstore the other day when I ran across a copy of Blood Price by Tanya Huff. I’ve heard a ton of good things about the series and I picked it up because I’m a sucker for anything with a vampire in it. I wasn’t disappointed.

Blood Price is the first in the Blood series which centers around an ex-cop and a vampire. Vicki “Victory” Nelson was the best detective on the force in Toronto and she left at the top of her game. Now a year later she’s working as a private investigator but she’s bitter about the circumstances in which she left.

Coming home late one night on the subway she hears a scream and runs to investigate. Though she knows that it’s a stupid thing to do without back up, and without even a badge, Vicki rushes into an unknown situation just to prove to herself that she still has what it takes. She finds much more than she was counting on.

Across the city people are dying in a horrific way; their throats are being torn out and their bodies drained of all blood. Henry Fitzroy is furious when he sees the headlines in the paper, and knowing that it’s only a matter of time before the public starts screaming ‘Vampire’ - he decides to do something about it.

When Vicki and Henry’s paths finally cross each must make the decision to trust the other. Henry gets someone to confide his secret in, the fact that he is a vampire, and Vicki gets a supernatural edge on a case that just seems to get worse. Throw in detective Mike Celluci, Vicki’s ex-partner as well as lover, a demon terrorizing the city of Toronto and you’ve got a paranormal mystery that’s hard to beat.

Blood Price is a great book. You get such a feel for the characters, especially Vicki, and each one comes across solid and three dimensional. One of the things that makes the difference is the fact that each back story is so well thought out. Henry Fitzroy is made more real for each flashback and Vicki and Mike are perfect because of their tumultuous history. You become lost in the story, and trust me it’s easy to do, as the three try to find a killer that is less than human.

Another cool thing for those fans of Tanya Huff is that this series has been adapted into a television series, Blood Ties, on Lifetime. I might have to break down and get cable just so I can watch this series because if it’s even half as good as Blood Price then I’m already a fan.

'Dancing with Werewolves' by Carole Nelson Douglas

ISBN: 0809572036
Format: Paperback, 240pp
Publisher: Juno Books
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $6.99

When the millennium came around a few things changed. But it wasn’t the computers that everyone had prepared themselves for. Instead everything that humans thought of as myth or legend revealed themselves to be true; vampires, werewolves, ghouls, witches, ghosts, and everything else that you think of while hiding under the blanket at 3am. They came out of the closet, and from under the bed, and demanded to be included in society.

Delilah Street was named after where she was found abandoned as a baby. She grew up in an orphanage, the center of constant attacks of one kind or another. Delilah is what she refers to as vampire bait. With black hair and pale creamy skin she has every vampire in a 100 mile area putting the moves on her, or at least trying to. But growing up like that taught Delilah how to defend herself. It also gave her a nose for the paranormal.

Now all grown up, Delilah is working at a paranormal reporter for a small town Kansas TV station. She’s happy there, having carved out her own spot and made herself a fixture with the local residents. She does anything and everything relating to the paranormal. But when a date with her vampire co-worker goes bad, Delilah gets frozen out at work. So with her self respect and the clothes on her back she high tails it to Las Vegas.

Once in Vegas she runs into Ric Montoya, a former FBI agent who has a nose for finding dead bodies. When the two connect over a double grave everything that Delilah knows about herself will change. Haunted by strange alien abduction nightmares and coming to terms with the fact that she might not be completely human, Delilah and Ric unravel the mystery of the dead couple.

The big draw for me with this one is the alternate history. I’ve read several paranormal novels that deal with a world in which vampires and werewolves are everyday things. Some authors handle it better than others and while Douglas’ world isn’t the best I’ve found, it is one that I wouldn’t mind spending some time in.

Carole Nelson Douglas’ writing is crisp and edgy. As I read Delilah’s voice came through loud and clear, a perfect mix of hard-nosed reporter and small town girl. She’s a likable character, the kind that you would quickly become a best friends with. Dancing with Werewolves is a wonderful addition to the paranormal genre and I can only hope that we’ll be seeing Delilah again.

'Key to Conflict'

ISBN: 0441015034
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 336pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: May 2007
Price: $7.99

There is a reason people read reviews. One of the reasons is that hopefully you will not spend your hard earned cash on a book that will only disappoint you. Of course when you’re an impulse shopper, like me, and you see a cover that catches your eye sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.

I really, really wanted to like Key to Conflict. It’s got a great plot idea and a few characters that really grab your attention. Unfortunately the end result is something short of what you might expect. It’s clumsy and awkward in spots, with too much detail and development in which the author shows you a lot of things without letting it just unfold onto the page. There just was not enough conversation to keep the book going; Indeed, Gryphon would tell you that certain characters had talked, and this just got to be a little boring. I don’t want to be told what they said, I just want to read it, damnit.

Not to mention the fact that this is labeled fantasy… except that for just fantasy it sure does have a lot of sex going on. Or if not sex, then enough time spent inside Gillian’s head thinking about the hunky beautiful drop-dead-sexy males she finds herself surrounded by. They all want her too, she’s that perfect. I personally would have stuck this in the romance section, except that it wouldn’t really fit there either.

Dr. Gillian Key is a Marine Paramortal Psychologist. So she kicks your ass and then she’s going to ask you how you feel about it. It’s an unusual combination, and it almost works. She is assigned to a master vampire by the name of Alesksei and a charming ghost and while she is there for their mental health she is also supposed to unearth some clues about Dracula. Yes, the Dracula, who is the ultimate in bad guys and just so happens to be stirring up trouble again.

From there we learn that basically Dracula is trying to take over the world again and our brave and oh-so-sweet doctor has landed on the wrong side. By helping Alesksei, one of Dracula’s sworn enemies, Gillian has been made a target. But since part of her mission is to uncover information she’s in the perfect, if a bit tight, spot.

Soon Gillian has formed a relationship with Tanis, Alesksei’s even cuter brother and the dead but very sexy turquoise-eyed ghost she’s treating for shock over his untimely death hundreds of years ago. And Alesksei has a thing for her too, but there is that whole doctor-patient line that Gillian doesn’t want to cross… well… until later, at least.

The Dracula stuff never goes anywhere and nothing is resolved. There are hints of a second book with the open ending and I can only pray that if a sequel does show up it is less tell and more show. In the end I just started skipping pages, which I have to admit is not a good idea since there is so much information crammed onto each page to begin with.

But I couldn’t bring myself to go back and read it. So I just gave up, and I hate to admit it but — this particular Key to Conflict just might have to remain lost in the couch cushions.

'The Road to Hell' by Jackie Kessler

ISBN: 0821781030
Format: Paperback, 304pp
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Pub. Date: November 2007
Price: $15.00

The Road to Hell is pretty in your face with the sexuality. In the first 20 pages you get premature ejaculation, bathroom masturbation, and dirty talk. Imagine, if that is what you get for your first taste, what else is in store? Yeah, I can hear your brain working through my computer.

Jesse, formally known as the demon succubus Jezebel, is a stripper. Something that is not that far removed from what she did as a demon seeing as how she seduced humans to claim their souls for hell. But all that is behind her. She is no longer that demon succubus but Jesse, the now human girl who loves her job stripping at Spice as much as she loves her New York City cop boyfriend, Paul.

Jesse just thought she left that all behind. When her best friend’s sister shows up, all that soft, comfy safety flies out the window. Megaera, Jesses’ one time best friend, until she left Jesse to die, is in trouble and being tortured. Jesse is asked to help her, save her from her fate because Jesse is the only demon to ever escape hell and live to tell the tale.

But Jesse isn’t sure she wants to. She likes her human life, she likes the relationship with Paul and doesn’t want any of that to change; which of course it would if she went back to hell to save her betrayer of a best friend. But deep down Jesse is still the succubus she once was, sure she has a soul and a human body, but you can’t change 4,000 years of living one way for another over night.

When Paul gets pulled into the mess Jesse knows what she has to do. Along the way we meet a ton of fun characters. Angel, who just happens to be a real angel, is great and Jesse has a lot of fun corrupting little Miss Perfect.

The Road to Hell is being labeled a paranormal romance. It’s not. Sure this is paranormal but this isn’t exactly a romance. Jesse, though she does love Paul, doesn’t spend a lot of time with him in this. In the end he just spends too much time off stage to be a love interest or a character that I care about. Not to mention that though she is dedicated to her relationship it doesn’t stop her from letting other questionable things happen; which just flies in the face of the romance format.

Not that I mind something that’s a bit unconventional, which The Road to Hell certainly is. You’ve got strippers, demons, and a ton of in your face action of all kinds. Jesse is a unique voice and I’m sure that she will have her own fan base in no time. So if you are looking for something a bit kinky, a little dirty and a ton of fun look no farther than The Road to Hell.

'Upon the Midnight Clear' by Sherrilyn Kenyon

ISBN: 0312947054
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 288pp
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $6.99

Upon the Midnight Clear is the first novel I’ve read of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dream-Hunter series. I have to admit that I was expecting something a bit more and reading the reviews on Amazon I’m not the only one. I had really been looking forward to this one too, thanks to the hunky guy on the cover.

Aiden is a famous Hollywood actor who has had his faith in humanity ripped to shreds. Kenyon drops all kinds of references throughout the novel, including one to the movie 300, which gets a little tiring after awhile. Aiden has a psycho brother, Donnie, who has let his jealousy turn him into a monster bent on destroying everything Aiden has worked so hard to gain.

Leta is a dream goddess who has battled the god of Pain in the past and has suffered great losses. Leta, better than anyone, understands the pain that others inflict on those they love. But stripped of all emotion she refuses to concentrate on anything but revenge for past wounds.

When Donnie summons the god of Pain to kill Aiden, Leta steps in. Determined that no more innocents will be harmed and thirsty for revenge she plans to sacrifice herself if she must. What she doesn’t count on are the feelings that arise for Aiden. Broken and bitter Aiden is determined not to let Leta affect him but the more he is around her the more he can’t help but hope that not everyone hurts those they love.

I was expecting something with a bit more grit and what I got was a Christmas romance dressed up with Greek Gods. Not only did I get this sappy, makes you grimace while you read story, but I got the sappy cookie-cutter happy ending as well. Mind if I ruin it for you? Sure you don’t. They get married and have a baby. Gasp! Socking, I know.

Upon the Midnight Clear wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I had expected. Sherrilyn Kenyon is still one of my favorite romance authors and I will continue to read her stories, I have Dark Side of the Moon in my to-be-read stack right now and I can’t wait to get to it. Just when you pick this one up expect a light hearted read that will only take a few hours tops.

'Servant: The Awakening' by L.L. Foster

ISBN: 0425218740
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 304pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $7.99

Servant: The Awakening is a new paranormal series by L.L. Foster or Lori Foster the author of more than 60 novels that have been on the New York Times Bestseller list. Maybe she thought the initials would help ease her into the paranormal market, a market that she had not until now written in. But whether it’s L.L. Foster or Lori Foster The Awakening is great. Plus it tells you right in the back of the book that it’s a pseudonym so it’s not like it’s a big secret.

Gabrielle Cody is unlike any other character I’ve read. Innocent, deadly, sheltered and yet so aware of the evil that the world contains it makes your heart ache. Gaby has lived a tough life, shoved from foster home to foster home, always on the edges of humanity she has been shunned because of her special gift. A gift that God has bestowed upon her to eliminate evil.

On her 21st birthday Gaby receives a call, a pain so intense she is able to focus on nothing else, and she rushes out to find and destroy the evil. Tall, thin, and wielding a huge knife she is more than able to defend herself even if she does look like nothing more than skin and bone. On the way to answer the call she bumps into Luther Cross a detective out wandering the mean streets of this unspecified city. He is immediately drawn to her but Gaby knows that there is no room in her life for friends or lovers.

When one of the bodies that Gaby dispatched is found by Luther he becomes suspicious of her and enlists her friend and landlord Morty to keep an eye on her. But no matter how antisocial Gaby is she can’t seem to shake the persistent detective who is interested in her for more than one reason. But Luther isn’t the only one watching Gaby; an evil so intense it hurts is trailing her as well. Never close enough for her to get a fix on, running away before she can confront it, but always there lingering at the edges Gaby knows it’s only a matter of time before she must face it.

This is completely different from any of the paranormal fiction you are going to find out there right now. God, and to an extent religion, are a big part of the story and the main character. Gaby is this powerful woman able to defeat the evil on earth because of God and she knows this. Also Gaby turns her holy adventures into graphic novels that are then published under a false name and have a huge underground following. I have a feeling that later in the series this idea will really come into play.

Along with all the serious slayer stuff there are a few funny moments. Gabby, having lived a life of deprivation dedicated to her calling, is totally unaware about sex. With no TV or radio to fill in her lack of education she corners Luther into filling her in on the fine details. While nothing too steamy happens beyond a few kisses the dialogue is sure to bring out a smile or two.

Servant: The Awakening is short and the pages just fly by; this was another one that I found myself glued to , unable to set it down, and reading over my lunch break. Better yet the story continues with Servant: The Acceptance which as of yet has no set release date besides the caption at the back of the book which reads ‘coming soon’ but for me it can’t be soon enough.

'Lover Unbound' by J.R. Ward

ISBN: 0451222350
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 528pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: September 2007
Price: $7.99

I’ve heard J.R. Ward’s name a million times. Any time paranormal romance comes up, The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is always recommended reading. And all I’ve heard are good things. So I planed to pick up a book when I saw one, add it to my to-be-read pile, and I figured I would get around to it eventually.

This last weekend I was in my local super center and I saw a copy of Lover Unbound. When I picked it up I was surprised by how thick the book was; 502 page of small black type. I went ahead and bought it, thinking that I wouldn’t get around to it anytime soon.

Well Saturday night I picked it up. I wasn’t going to read it. I just wanted to browse a few pages. I told myself this firmly, I have so many other books I need to be reading. But once I picked Lover Unbound up I literally could not put it down. At four in the morning my husband finally made me turn the lights out.

Lover Unbound is the fifth book in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I haven’t read the rest of them, although I will now, but coming into the fifth book as a newbie was no problem. J.R. Ward fills in the details along the way and while you know that a lot of the characters have their own back stories the main focus of the novel is a new couple. So in a way it could stand on its own, though I bet it is better as a whole.

Vishous is a member of the Brotherhood, a select order of elite vampires who hunt lessers, which are a kind of vampire as well. There is a whole vampire hierarchy and the Brotherhood is pretty high up. But even though Vishous is a member of this select group he is still on the fringes. Having survived a horrible existence as a youth, Vishous is broken and hard with a taste for both sexes and S&M.

Jane is an ambitious doctor, head of emergency, and when Vishous comes under her care she takes an interest in him. With his facial tattoos, goatee, and six-foot muscled-up frame, he is quite an eye full. But Jane isn’t interested in what he looks on the outside; what catches her eye is his six-chambered heart. When the rest of Vishous’ brothers come to break him out of the hospital, they take Jane with them against her will.

There are a million storylines here. Characters from previous books come back, their storylines continuing, while new characters are introduced. But the main attraction is the story of Jane and Vishous. But even their love story isn’t simple; obstacle after obstacle is thrown in their way. Vishous’ destiny has been outlined for him and nowhere in that future is there room for Jane.

I’ve heard that this is the weakest of the series and I have to tell you Lover Unbound is pretty freaking fantastic. The pages fly, the characters draw you in and hold you with a strangle hold, and you are simply compelled to keep turning. I thought that 502 pages would be too long but by the time I reached the end I realized that it was not nearly long enough. I have a new favorite author.

'Dark Hunger' by Christine Feehan (Graphic Novel)

ISBN: 0425217833
Format: Paperback, 208pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: October 2007
Price: $10.00

While reading Dark Hunger I found myself giggling horribly like some preteen girl reading her mother’s explicit romance novel. I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but it was just so hard to take seriously. Its all-over-the-top dramatic dialogue set against the backdrop of a handsomely drawn long-haired man and a busty brunette. Throw in a little blood, some shape-shifting fight scenes, and a few moments gone hazy with love and you have something that is just so hard to put down!

Riordan is a Carpathian male who has been captured and held prisoner by a master vampire. Juliette is a shape-shifter who breaks into a lab in the middle of the jungle to release the animals being held there. She finds Riordan chained in a cell and sets him free. Immediately he realizes that she is his life mate, though it takes a little longer to convince her of that fact.

But once Juliette accepts the truth of the matter we move on to find out that her cousin and little sister are in trouble. The master vampire, the one that Riordan had been hunting but was captured by, was indirectly involved by helping rouged shape-shifting males. So with Riordan by her side, Juliette charges into the jungle to avenge her family and free her captured sister.

Carpathian’s hunt vampires mostly because they are capable of becoming a vampire if they surrender to the darker side of their nature. Which is why Feehan’s books are so successful. Every woman loves to read about the hard-to-reach guy that has this lurking dark side but also just happens to have a heart of gold. Wait! Isn’t that most romance novels? Anyway, it works just as well in graphic format at it does typed out word-for-word.

The artwork is fair, it isn’t anything fantastic, but it isn’t the worst I’ve seen. I really enjoyed the idea of Christine Feehan’s novels being done in a graphic format, I think that it brings a lot to her ongoing series. Plus it’s just plain fun.

The story is pretty basic, a hunky alpha male goes for the luscious brunette, tells her that he is her life mate and she falls head over heels (and lets face it, Girls, it works). We don’t need anymore of the story because they are simply meant to be and he’s immortal as well as being gorgeous. (If it gets any more sickly sweet I think I’ll have to go watch some zombie movies.)

If you haven’t read the rest of Christine Feehan’s novels you will sink right into the story without feeling as if you have missed something. As it is you get a good idea and it really only whets the appetite for something a bit longer and with less pictures.

And after all that, the giggling like a preteen and setting the book aside when it just got to be too disgustingly romantic, I love it. I love it and yes I will be buying the next one in the series. I just can’t help myself. Dark Hunger is my new guilty pleasure.

'Once Bitten, Twice Shy' by Jennifer Rardin

ISBN:031602046X
Format: Paperback, 308pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $12.99

Before I started reading Once Bitten, Twice Shy I had read several reviews that claimed that this was a good book, a great book even. But in no way was I prepared for how truly wonderful Once Bitten, Twice Shy turned out to be. I loved it, plain and simple as that.

The story kicks off with Jaz and Vayl working together in Miami. Vayl is a vampire assassin, one of the CIA’s best, and Jaz is his bodyguard/assistant assassin. Six months previously Vayl had requested that she be assigned to him, since then the two have been dancing a fine line between working partners and something more.

When a routine assassination in Miami turns into a plot to infect the planet with a deadly virus, Vayl and Jaz find themselves in the middle of it. With a dirty senator on one side and a crazed fanatic on the other they must discover what links all the players together. Unsure of who they can trust or where they can turn Jaz and Vayl turn to each other.

Along the way we met a cast of supporting characters that are perfect; private investigator Cole, who just happens to find Jaz irresistible, to the irradiation of Vayl. Liliana, Vayl’s vampire ex-wife, who we love to hate; Cassandra, a psychic who helps Jaz tap into some of her extra ordinary gifts and Bergman, a freelance tech guy for the CIA, and one of Jaz’s oldest friends.

Jaz’s inner dialogue was fun, she’s a smart-ass and has a bit of temper but you just love her all the more for it. She does have an edge most of the time but underneath all that is a woman who has been to hell and back. Jaz loves her family, even if they get on her nerves; she loves her country, her job and will do whatever it takes to keep Vayl safe. This is a character that you fall in love with from the start. Who wouldn’t like a smart-mouth assassin with a penchant for nice cars?

Something else I loved about Once Bitten, Twice Shy is that it starts out so simple. You think that you already know how the story will go and as you read on you realize that this is something completely new. Jennifer Rardin is a name to watch and if you haven’t yet picked up her debut then you should. I already can’t wait to read the second, Another One Bites the Dust.

'Beg for Mercy' by Toni Andrews

ISBN: 077832365X
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
Publisher: Mira
Price: $6.99

Beg for Mercy is one paranormal novel that (insert gasp here) has no vampires, werewolves, or magic. Crazy, huh? But for Toni Andrews and her character Mercy it works just as well without those things, and as much as I love those elements, it’s nice to dip into the paranormal without them.

Mercy has something she calls ‘the press’ which is a psychic ability she can use to make people do what she says. Mercy has learned that using her ability can cause problems, so she has put as much emotional distance between her and the rest of humanity as humanly possible. But no one is ever truly alone, as Mercy soon learns, and when she needs them, the friends she thought she never had coming running.

But before Mercy can learn some things about herself a whole bunch of stuff has to go wrong first. When her best friend Sukey brings another unsuitable guy around and gets burned, Mercy is there to pick up the pieces. Sukey gets drugged and dumped at the local emergency room and once Mercy is sure that Sukey is all right she goes in search of the guy who did this to her best friend. When she finds him she presses him to get out of town and never come back.

You would think that this should solve the problem for everyone. This is where you would be wrong and where handsome Dominic walks into the picture. Dominic claims to be a relative to the missing man and refuses to leave Mercy alone once he realizes she had something to do with his disappearance. At first he is charming and suave but soon he reveals a much darker side as he tries to press his own answers out of Mercy.

Along the way Mercy meets Sam, the new guy in town, and the two hit it off. Sam is recovering from a failed relationship and although he is attracted to Mercy he doesn’t like the fact that she seems to be keeping so many secrets from him. Both characters are damaged goods, two broken people in a broken world, but they somehow manage to keep it together.

Then things go from bad to worse as Sukey goes missing - thanks to Dominic. Mercy is given an ultimatum and warned that if she does not follow through her friend’s life is at stake. From there it is a wild ride as Mercy tries to discover where Sukey is and how she can save her.

The story takes place in Balboa, California and the setting is just as important as any of the colorful characters. The small town feel, the local bar, and marina all play a big part and Toni Andrews paints the setting perfectly.

Beg for Mercy is a paranormal tale with light romance thrown in but what drives the story forward, and kept me turning pages well past 2 in the morning, was the search and rescue of Sukey. The first in a series, Angel of Mercy has a release date of May 2008, and I can’t wait to see what adventures Mercy will have next.

'The Devil’s Right Hand' by Lilith Saintcrow

ISBN: 0316021423
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 391pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $6.99

Dante is back in The Devil’s Right Hand, the third book in the Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow. After everything Dante has faced, the horrors of Rigger Hall, the death and rebirth of Japhrimel, and the very final passing of Jace Monroe, you would think that things couldn’t get any worse. But you would be wrong.

The Devil isn’t done with Dante. He’s been calling her for a long time and he’s tired of waiting for her answer. Dante has spent time recovering from her final battle in Rigger Hall away from Saint City, Japhrimel never very far away. She’s had time to relax and isn’t walking around with her sword in her hand all the time, an amazing thing for her. But when the Devil calls, you can’t ignore him forever.

The Devil contracts Dante as his new Right Hand. She has seven years to hunt down and kill four demons that have escaped from the bowels of hell. In return Japhrimel is given back his full demon powers and the Devil promises protection for Dante for all eternity. But he isn’t called the Father of Lies for nothing.

As Dante gets her first taste of battle since her near defeat by Mirovitch she realizes that she might be in over her head. She has become a pawn in the Devil’s game and he wasn’t kind enough to share the rules first. But it isn’t like Danny Valentine to back away from a fight and at the end of the day it is still one of the things she does best. With a new blade at her side, the first one lying broken at the bottom of the ocean, Dante wonders if she carries a blade that could kill the Devil.

One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed so far about this series is that with each book you get to see Dante and Japhrimel’s relationship evolve. All along Dante has treated Japhrimel like a human, no different from how she treats everyone else in her life. Dante seems to forget that Japhrimel is not a man but a demon and she receives a grim reminder of this fact.

Dante is also haunted by her past. Jace’s voice echoes through her mind, she sees his ghostly figure in a bar that he never visited in life, and once faced with a grown Eve all Dante can think about is her deceased friend and lover Doreen. It is a hard, hurtful past that she can’t put behind her, something that makes her more human despite the fact that she isn’t quite human anymore.

While you could pick this one up and enjoy it out of sequence with the rest of the novels I would recommend you start with Working for the Devil, the first book in the series. At this point there is just too much story, and while you would be able to pick it up along the way, wouldn’t you rather get to know Dante and Japhrimel from the beginning?

SciFiChick read and reviewed this one as well as Book Fetish

'Dead Man Rising' by Lilith Saintcrow

ISBN: 031600314X
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 380pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $6.99

When I finished Working for the Devil I immediately picked up Dead Man Rising, the second book in the Dante Valentine series. It picks up with Dante and Jace almost a year after the events of the previous book.

Dante has thrown herself into tracking down bounties with the death of Japhrimel still haunting her. The mark on her shoulder, Japhrimel’s name branded into her skin, has started to burn again after the long period of cold. Jace, who followed her back to Saint City from Nuevo Rio after she finished the Santino case, is working with her and trying to keep her alive. The real reason he is there remains unspoken between them — his love for her, despite the fact that she is still in love with a dead demon.

With the changes made to her body when Japhrimel changed her, Dante isn’t aging like the people around her. She sees the signs in Jace’s eyes with their crow's feet and dark circles, the few strands of grey running through Gabe’s dark hair, and lines around Eddie’s mouth. Dante wonders if once they are gone, once there is no one to remember how she was before, if she will be dead then, too.

When Gabe, one of Dante’s closest friends and a fellow necromancer, contacts her about a case, Dante can’t refuse. She feels honor-bound to help Gabe out despite the fact that she would rather not pick at old wounds. Psions, people with magical ability, are being brutally murdered and the one clue they have to go on leads to a past that Dante doesn’t want to remember.

Rigger Hall, the place of long buried memory, is somehow connected to the recent deaths. Dante grew up in Rigger Hall, an orphanage and school for those gifted with magical ability, which was run by the sadistic headmaster Mirovitch. That was years ago; Rigger Hall is closed and Mirovitch long dead, but deep down Dante knows the past isn’t going to stay buried.

With Jace refusing to leave her side and Japhrimel’s voice echoing in her head, Dante faces the horrors of her past. The Devil makes another appearance and asks a question that sparks hope in Dante, “Can it be you have not resurrected him?” But Dante knows better than to trust the Devil, the Father of Lies, and pushes his question away to concentrate on the killer roaming Saint City.

There is a lot of depth to these books. They aren’t just straight, mindless fantasy; the characters are dark, broken, and then sewn together with pure determination. Dante’s childhood, which she must face, is practically gruesome although there are other characters who have had it worse.

Dead Man Rising is dark, gritty, urban fantasy at its best. But what made it even better is the fact that it is the continuing tale of a character who is unforgettable. If you read these out of order you would completely miss the building momentum, the small things that add up to create a series that is truly fantastic.

'Working for the Devil' by Lilith Saintcrow

ISBN: 0316003131
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384pp
Publisher: Orbit
Price: $6.99

Working for the Devil is the first in a five book series covering the life and times of Dante Valentine.

Dante, Danny for short, is the kind of character you can really sink your teeth into. A katana-wielding Necromancer, Dante doesn't take crap from anyone. Tough, smart, and deadly, she's built a reputation for herself in Saint City. She's one of the best, maybe even the best, and that is why one rainy day the Devil asks for her help.

The Devil has a job for Dante and he isn't going to let her refuse. A demon has escaped from hell with something very precious - an egg that, if opened, could mean an apocalypse for Earth. For Dante the job is even harder to turn down once she learns that the demon she will be hunting is the same one that almost killed her a few years before. The demon, Santino, had also killed her friend Doreen and Dante feels honor bound to hunt him down. Japhrimel, the Devil's right hand demon and most deadly assassin, is made Dante's familiar and protector.

Driven by a dark past that is only hinted at in Rigger Hall and the brutal murder of Doreen, Dante checks with her contacts in Saint City for any sign of Santino. Japhrimel is always a few steps away and at first Dante is uneasy about having the demon shadowing her. But after awhile the feel of his dark aura and his cinnamon smell become as familiar to her as her own skin.

Dante gets help, whether she wants it or not, from her Necromancer and cop friend Gabriele, Gabe's hedgewitch boyfriend Eddie, and ex-lover Jace who just happens to have ties to the Mob. Not to mention the demon. They follow Santino to Nuevo Rio where the hunters become the hunted.

One of the things that really stood out about this book was the world. The technology is advanced (think Blade Runner) and the mix of floating cars and laser guns with ancient Egyptian gods and swords fit perfectly. It's complicated and not everything is explained in depth. Things are just mention in passing, thrown at you and either you catch it or you don't. But this isn't a problem, it only adds to the feeling of reality, as Dante fights her way toward Santino and the egg.

Based in a world full of advanced technology and ancient magic, Working for the Devil is a dark urban fantasy that reaches out and grabs you by the throat. It is one kick butt start to what I'm sure will turn out to be one of the better series around. If Dante Valentine isn't on your reading list, you're missing out.

SciFiChick read and reviewed this one too...

'Eclipse' by Stephenie Meyer

ISBN: 0316160202
Format: Hardcover, 629pp
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Price: $18.99

I remember the first time I saw a copy of Twilight at the bookstore. I picked it up and read the jacket but set it down. I ended up walking to the counter with some other book that had caught my eye. But I got home and I realized that I had made a mistake; I should have bought Twilight. It haunted me, there is no other way to describe the feeling and I went to sleep that night thinking about it. The next day I went out and bought a copy.

I didn’t read it right away. It sat on my bedside, waiting. I knew that as soon as I cracked the spine I would not be able to put it down until I had finished. And I was right. Once I finally did pick it up I couldn’t put it down. I was glued to the story of a high school girl, Bella, falling in love with a vampire, Edward. It sounds so simple, diluted into one line like that - but it wasn’t.

The story continued with New Moon, and Stephenie Meyer introduced a werewolf, Jacob -- a childhood friend of Bella‘s — into the equation. The simple romance of before had been replaced with something much darker. Edward was absent for most of the book and whereas before Stephenie Meyer had shown us a sweet first love she now showed us the first broken heart. The action from before was there. Bella was still facing a danger from Twilight in the form of a vindictive vampire by the name of Victoria, a threat that follows her into Eclipse.

Which picks up with the final months before Bella’s high school graduation. We are reminded of Carlisle’s promise to turn Bella into a vampire after the big event. Bella does not only want this transformation in order to stay with Edward forever, but must become a vampire because if she isn't Bella faces death at the hands of the Volturi, the ruling group of vampires from Italy. Edward of course is still against her changing; desperate for her to have as normal a human life as possible, he promises to protect her at whatever cost.

Bella also finally forgives Jacob for telling her dad about her motorcycle, something he did in New Moon. She tries to bring together Edward and Jacob — mortal enemies and the two most important people in her life — and in the end they form a sort of truce. Bella gets to spend time down in La Push with Jacob and the rest of the pack. But Jacob isn’t willing just to be Bella’s friend and chooses to fight to make her realize that deep down she loves him just as much as he loves her.

Meanwhile, in Seattle there has been a rash of unexplainable murders that soon the Cullen family links with vampire activity. As the murder toll goes higher, the Volturi are more likely to make the trip from Italy to investigate - and while they are there check up on Bella as well. But the situation suddenly changes when Bella realizes that the activity in Seattle is linked to her.

In the end Bella must make choices about who she is and who she loves, and with what sacrifices can she make and still live with herself. The tension flows through the book and in the end bursts with both a physical and emotional battle.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Eclipse is the background of the Cullen family. We find out about both Rosalie’s and Jasper’s pasts. The history that formed them and their reactions towards Bella become clear and the characters much more solid because of this knowledge. I think that is part of the appeal of these books - the fact that you do become so wrapped up in the characters, that they touch places deep inside yourself. It isn’t just Bella and Edward that capture your attention but Charlie, Bella’s dad, Jacob, Alice, and the rest.

Stephenie Meyer is so good at painting the emotional image. Not only are you living Bella’s heartbreak - but your own, too. So good at putting into words the fuzzy over powering feeling of that first heartbreak, and of the second, that you are left breathless in the wake of its passing. It is gripping fiction, and Meyer is much more than just a young adult author; she draws from her reader such an emotional reaction, writes so fluidly and propels the reader forward so effortlessly, she truly is a great author for any age range.

I hit a wide array of emotions while reading Eclipse and once I closed the book I felt emotionally exhausted. When you pick up Twilight, New Moon — and now Eclipse — you must be prepared for the emotional rollercoaster ride of not only being a teenager but a person, with all the thrilling highs and depressing lows that fill everyday life. So, full of trepidation, I’m waiting for the next book and wondering what the future holds for Bella and Edward.

'Rises the Night' by Colleen Gleason

ISBN: 045122146X
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Price: $6.99

If you have not read The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, I can tell you right now that you are missing one of the best paranormal romances in the bookstores at the moment. Set in 19th-century England, the heroine is Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy, a modern woman in a past time. Victoria is one of my favorite heroines: strong, independent, but not perfect, which makes her easy to relate to.

In The Rest Falls Away, book one of the series, Victoria learns of her family’s history as Venators, or vampire hunters, and she embraces it. While it means a lot of complication in her life she knows she cannot turn away from it. When Victoria meets Phillip, the Marques of Rockley, she falls desperately in love. Determined to have the best of both worlds, and make it work, soon the two are married.

But while Phillip is planning their happily ever after ,Lilith Queen of the Vampires is plotting to get her undead hands on a book that will make her even stronger than she already is. With the help of dark and handsome Max, another Venator, her Aunt Eustacia, her plucky maid Verbena, and not always so helpful but always sexy Sebastian, Victoria comes away from the events alive if not completely whole-hearted.

Rises The Night picks up one year after the events of The Rest Falls Away. Victoria is once again on the prowl through the darkest of London’s streets, but Lilith has taken all of her vampires away with her and the streets are quiet. Max has been missing for several weeks and although Aunt Eustacia tells Victoria not to worry she can’t help but wonder where he is.

Victoria visits the ruins of The Silver Chalice, Sebastian’s burned out vampire/ human establishment, but she is not the only one searching the empty building. Inside Sebastian’s office is a vampire and something else, something Victoria has never come across before.

She finds a strange amulet inscribed with a wolf. Victoria takes it to her Aunt who immediately sends a description to Wayren, an ageless woman who always seems to know everything. But knowing that it will be some time before information is received Victoria decides to go to a friend’s house party in the country.

What promises to be a sedate week soon turns into almost more excitement than Victoria can bear. Sebastian, who has not been seen since The Silver Chalice burned, is there with an Italian gentlemen. A Dr. Polidori the author of a vampire novel that has taken society by storm. But too much of the novel seems real and Victoria is not the only one who thinks so.

When the house party is disrupted and Victoria discovers another amulet bearing the wolf she travels to Italy to uncover the mystery. She discovers that the amulet is the sign of a human group working for vampires. Once again Victoria is called to defend the innocent from these power-hungry monsters.

Sebastian proves to be more than just a minor distraction for Victoria in Rises the Night. Although she can not deny her attraction to him she realizes that she cannot count on him for help. Sebastian lives in a gray area while Victoria’s survival depends on the black and white. The mutual attraction they share is soon boiling and Victoria must make a choice. Can she live with just a little gray in her world?

Rises the Night is a fantastic follow up to The Rest Falls Away. It moves along quickly and surely with never a false step. It doesn’t suffer from the second book syndrome like some books can and if anything is better than the first. It also leaves you wanting more. I’ll have to wait another year for book three, The Bleeding Dusk, but I have a feeling it will be worth the wait.

'Matters of the Blood' by Maria Lima

ISBN: 0809557908
Format: Paperback, 282pp
Publisher: Juno Books
Price: $12.95

Keria Kelly is not your average girl. For one she isn’t human, sure she looks it, but in reality far from it. What is she exactly? Well she has not found out yet. She could be anything; a shape shifter, a clairvoyant, a mind reader, or a healer. Until her body decides, she gets to enjoy a little bit of everything.

Keria belongs to a clan of ‘others’ and her extended family is large, with her grandmother at the head bossing everyone around. This, among other reasons, is why Keria is in Rio Seco a quiet little town in Texas Hill Country. Keria is playing babysitter to her human cousin Marty, the outcast in her supernatural family.

Things seem to be on a normal course until two mutilated deer show up at a resort ranch on the outskirts of town. Keria, as part of her change, has been having graphic dreams about the deer and is horrified to learn that they are not just dreams. When Marty calls her and tells her he has to speak to her urgently concerning family business, Keria gets a little worried.

As is Keria didn’t have enough to worry about, an old flame rolls back into town. Sheriff Carlton Larson is investigating the dead deer and a possible connection to Marty. When he questions Keria it is not all business and Keria tries her best to stop his advances. But the Sheriff is not the only possible love interest here. Adam Walker, owner of the resort ranch, is also walking straight out of Keria’s past and he is a temptation that is harder to resist.

So what used to be a small quiet town turns out to be anything but. The mystery that soon takes over Keria’s life is engrossing and quickly snowballs to something much larger than just two dead deer. Her favorite brother Tucker shows up to complicate matters all the more, and her wise-cracking best friend Bea provides some comic relief.

Matters of the Blood is a great page-turner from first-time novelist Maria Lima. Her characters are believable, lively: likeable, or dislikeable in some cases. The interaction is lifelike and often grin-worthy. As of yet there is not a guaranteed continuation of Keria’s story but I will be the first one to pick up one up if it appears.

'All Together Dead' by Charlaine Harris

ISBN: 0441014941
Format: Hardcover, 336pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Price: $24.95

Sookie Stackhouse is back in All Together Dead, book seven of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire novels. In book six, Definitely Dead, Sookie had been brought to the attention of the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne. The Queen recruited Sookie, with her ability to read human minds, to go to a vampire summit to help determine who had Sophie-Anne’s best interests at heart.

Also, in Definitely Dead, Sookie met the famous tall, dark, and handsome weretiger Quinn. While they share a lot of chemistry they have not spent enough time with each other. In All Together Dead the heat is still there but time is still one of their problems. It turns out that Sookie doesn’t know as much about Quinn as she had first thought and the things she learns about his past could put a damper on their future.

At the vampire summit the Queen of Louisiana is presenting her case to the vampire court for the murder of her husband, the King of Arkansas. With her state weakened by hurricane Katrina, and control over her country hanging in the balance, the vampires are already circling in for the kill. If the Queen of Louisiana is found guilty her entire entourage, including Sookie, face the consequences as well.

But a vampire trial is not the only thing Sookie will have to deal with. The Brotherhood of the Sun, a fanatic anti-vampire movement, is planning something for the summit. Sookie has had problems with them in the past and knows just how deadly they can be.

While Bill might be out of Sookie’s life for good there is one vampire who is not. Eric, owner of Fangtasia and sexy ancient Viking, is still struggling with his feelings for Sookie. Mainly that he has feelings at all. He still cannot remember what happened between Sookie and himself when his memory was wiped clean (Dead to the World) but he has figured out that they were lovers and it’s possible that Sookie really loved him.

A vampire in one hand and a weretiger in the other. How can a girl make a choice? Well, besides the fact that all firmly is over with first love Bill, there are not any decisions made here at all. The open-ended conclusion leaves hints of the future, ensuring the series will continue, but little else.

There is also the underlying theme of Sookie trying to control her mind reading ability as well as her life. She has always kept a low profile, sure most people in the small town she lives in know she can read minds, but they tend to forget. But the vampires, as well as some humans, are trying to maneuver her into a place they can control her and her ability. Sookie is hard pressed to keep hold of her life as well as her identity as a human being.

All Together Dead is great. The characters are wonderful as always and it is nice to see some faces from previous books. The universe that Sookie inhabits, just like ours except for a few differences, is easy to get wrapped up in. I could not put it down once I started, and the love triangle and mystery kept me turning pages well past midnight.

'Dead Girls' Dance' by Rachel Caine

ISBN: 0451220897
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 256pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Price: $5.99

In Glass Houses, book one of The Morganville Vampire series we were introduced to Claire Danvers, a sixteen year old college student in the small Texas town of Morganville. She quickly learns that this college town isn’t what it seems.

Vampires rule the entire population except for the college campus. If the vampires weren’t bad enough, there are two groups locked in a fight to gain control of the town. Claire and her friends, Michael, Eve, and Shane, are stuck in the middle of it.

The Dead Girls’ Dance picks up exactly where Glass Houses left off - with a cliffhanger. I can’t tell you how glad I was to pick this book up and not have missed a single scene of the action. Michael, ghost during the day but solid boy by night, is seemingly killed. But the Glass House isn’t going to let anything happen to its occupants and soon Michael is back in action.

But the distress call that Shane placed to his father, Frank Collins, during the last scene of Glass Houses, brings more hurt than help. A self-proclaimed vampire hunter, Frank has returned to Morganville to clean the place with Shane’s help. One group of the vampires has offered protection to those of the Glass House and Claire and her friends are relatively safe. But Shane’s father doesn’t care about the alliance, or Shane’s friends for that matter, and quickly lands the four teenagers in trouble.

When Shane gets tangled up in his father’s mess, Claire has to discover a way to save him from a horrible death at the hands of the vampires. Desperate to save the boy she loves Claire visits each faction of vampires. But things are not that easy and in the end everyone must make drastic changes in their lives.

If you haven’t read the first book I can guarantee you that you will be a little lost in this one. While it’s easy to figure out the plot and the characters' relationships to each other, they do discuss past events quite a bit. Not to mention you wouldn’t understand why these two sets of vampires are at each others throats.

Some characters are three dimensional — Claire, for example — while others are flat and have not grown enough from the last book to make them interesting. The action in Dead Girls’ Dance is constant while you follow the characters — from page one all the way to the fiery end — with a death grip on the book.

Is this a satisfying follow-up? Yes. Am I looking forward to the next book in the series? Yes. It’s a good story with decent characters. Just don’t expect something out of the ordinary.

'The Bone Whistle' by Eva Swan

ISBN: 0809557924
ISBN-13: 9780809557929
Format: Paperback, 224pp
Publisher: Juno Books
Price: $12.95

In The Bone Whistle, three generations of Native Americans have their lives changed by the wanaghi, fey spirits who live under the Dakota Hills. Darly, her grandfather Jake, and her mother Vivian have all had their lives shaped by contact with these spirits, for better or for worse.

Every summer Vivian takes Darly out of the city to the reservation to find some peace. Darly dislikes having to go and swears to herself that this will be the last summer she spends there. With a fresh broken heart on her sleeve and failure at college dogging her steps, Darly goes with her mother for what she believe will be the last time.

On the way to the cabins where they spend every summer they stop at her grandfather’s small shop. Jake realizes that Darly is having problems finding her place in life and gives her a small white whistle. He tells her to blow it if she feels up to some adventure, although he does not her tell what kind of adventure to expect. Darly shoves it in her pocket and promptly forgets about it.

Later, while walking out alone, Darly surprises a rattlesnake and afraid for her life blows the whistle, hoping that it will bring some help. Suddenly a strange man is there, stepping out of nowhere to save her from the snake. She barely has time to thank him before he is gone.

Darly runs back to the cabin to tell her mother what happened and life as she knew it changes. Darly had believed all her life that her father was dead. When her mother tells her that he is one of the wanaghi and still alive, Darly decides that she must find him.

When she blows the whistle again, a different man, Osni, appears, and Darly follows him beneath the hill and into a different world. The story that follows is full of adventure and self-discovery, even a touch of romance. Darly must come to terms with the fact that her father is wanaghi, which makes her part of a world she never knew existed.

The Bone Whistle moves along quickly and is packed with action until the last page. Darly is a likeable heroine, but there are other characters that steal the novel. Mni, a wanaghi who appears as a small human girl or a large bird, is a great character and her mischievous ways liven up the book.

'Night Life' by Elizabeth Guest

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (April 3, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0425214826
Price: $ 6.99

Night Life is the first book in Elizabeth Guest’s Pharaoh’s Rising series. The first thing that caught my eye, besides the cover, was the blurb on the back from Stella Cameron: “He was beautiful. He was lethal. And Elizabeth Guest has let him have his way with our minds- our senses. You will give in without a fight.” How could you possibly resist that?

Adrian King is what the Ancient Egyptians called an Eater of Blood and a Breaker of Bones, in modern terms a vampire. Once he was a God King, a warrior, ruling Egypt until he was betrayed by those closest to him. Now he owns the Royal Palace in Las Vegas, a casino and hotel done in an Ancient Egyptian theme. He is a king still but over a different sort of land.

Christine Day is an Egyptologist who has had ‘waking’ dreams about Ancient Egypt ever since she can remember. As she grew older they became more intense, growing romantic in nature. When she comes to Las Vegas for a conference she is immediately drawn to the Royal Palace by its authenticity.

While looking at the reproductions and artifacts from Egypt Christine has another of her ‘waking’ dreams, highly erotic she wakes from it shaken to come face to face with Adrian, the man she has just been dreaming about.

Of course Adrian recognizes her and sets out to convince her that she is his destiny. But how is a mortal woman going to take the idea of an ancient Pharaoh walking around? But this soon turns out to be the least of Adrian’s problems when he learns that enemies of the past have risen and are stalking into his present.

So while this book is definitely a romance it does have a few twists of mystery thrown in to keep you turning pages. Sexual tension usually drives romance novels but some of that is lacking here. Both character jump into their erotic relationship early on and the rest of the story concentrates on peeling back the mystery that is Adrian.

Night Life really does have something for everyone. Vampires are such a hot topic right now but Elizabeth Guest gives this idea a new spin, and while the vampirism element is there, it doesn’t over power the story. It takes place in Las Vegas with the taste of high rollers and decadence while also hitting the historical high points with its Ancient Egyptian theme. Not to mention extremely sexy characters.