"Living with the Dead" by Kelley Armstrong

I've read and enjoyed most of the books in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series.  Somehow I'd never gotten ahold of a copy of"Living with the Dead" though.

The 9th book in the series, "Living with the Dead" stars some familiar characters (chiefly half-demon Hope Adams and werewolf Karl Marsten), and introduces some new ones (so,e just for the purposes of the novel, but also some new characters that I hope will resurface in future books.  There's murder, mystery, supernaturals, romance...it's am interesting book that works well in the series.

If you like "Living with the Dead", I definitely recommend reading the rest of Armstrong's books.  (The Otherworld series starts with "Bitten".)  Click here for a list of books enjoyed by Armstrong fans.  I would also recommend books by P.C. Cast.

"Goddess of the Rose" by P.C. Cast

If you're familiar with the "Goddess Summoning" series by P.C.Cast, then you'll know what to expect from "Goddess of the Rose".  Yes, it takes a strong modern woman and throws her into mythology and a passionate love story.  Yes, there is a conflict of how to resolve the two different worlds, and the initial struggles about whether they can accept love.  Then there's the inevitable happy ending.  If this is what you're expecting, then "Goddess of the Rose" delivers.  Yes, you know what to expect.  You also know what to expect when you buy a chocolate bar, but that doesn't stop you indulging, does it?

To read my book review of "Goddess of the Rose" by P.C. Cast, click here.
To visit P.C. Cast's official website, click here (or here for her blog).

"Goddess of Light" by P.C. Cast

I've been reading P.C. Cast's "Goddess Summoning" series, and I've already blogged about two of the books: "Goddess of Legend" and "Goddess of Spring".

"Goddess of Light" fits in well with the other books in the "Goddess Summoning" series.  It features a successful modern woman who goes an a business trip and discovers excitement, romance, and love.  What she doesn't at first know is that her new lover is actually the god Apollo.

This isn't going to be the best or even most memorable book you'll ever read, but it does definitely offer entertainment while you're reading it.  This is a perfect summer vacation book.

For a longer review of "Goddess of Light",  click here.
To visit P.C. Cast's official website, click here.

"Goddess of Legend" by P.C. Cast

I've been reading the "Goddess Summoning" series by P.C. Cast lately (I've already posted about some of the other books in the series).  I'm really enjoying the series, especially the basis in mythology.

So far "Goddess of Legend" (using the Camelot legends) is my least favorite book in the series.  If you're interested in the series, I'd recommend reading any of the others over this one.  I still love P.C. Cast, but this is my least favorite book of hers so far.

To read my book review of "Goddess of Legend" by P.C. Cast, click here.

"Fade Out" by Rachel Caine

You've probably noticed by now that I have a weak spot for fantasy/paranormal fiction in general, and especially vampires.  I also really like young adult novels.  The end result is that I've read a lot of vampire books ranging from the horrific to cheesy.

"The Morganville Vampires" is a young adult series by author Rachel Caine.  The basic premise of the series is that a seemingly ordinary town (Morganville) is actually controlled and partially inhabited by vampires.  The main characters are:
Claire (teen genius and newcomer to Morganville)
Shane (brawn over brains and Claire's boyfriend)
Eve (both bubbly and ironically goth)
Michael (boy turned ghost turned vampire, guitar god and Eve's boyfriend).

They live together at the Glass House and have lots of life threatening adventures.

"Fade Out" is the 7th "Morganville" book.  (If you enjoy it, look for the next three books.  The 11th "Morganville" book is due to be published this November.)  In it, life seems to have found a new normal and calmed down.  In Morganville, though, normal and safe never last.  Eve becomes infatuated with a new friend.  In fact, everyone seems to just love the new girl and Claire must battle with jealousy and suspicions.  Throw in some vampire attacks, a vicious steampunk vampire computer, and reality TV references, and you have "Fade Out".

To read my review of the book "Fade Out" by Rachel Caine, click here.
To visit Rachel Caine's official website and find out more about all of her books, click here.

"Brisingr" by Christopher Paolini

I admit that I'm a little behind the times when it comes to Christopher Paolini's books.  Everyone was talking about Eragon when it came out way back in 2003.  Even my dad read and loved it and recommended it to me.  I put it on my mental list of books to read, but somehow never actually got around to it until recently.

The good news about procrastination is that I didn't have to wait for the next book in the series to be published.  I read the first three books of the "Inheritance Cycle" one right after the other, and the long awaited fourth book is due out in a few months.

"Brisingr" is Paolini's third book.  It continues the story of Eragon and his dragon Saphira.  (You could debate whether she's his dragon or he's her person; I think it's some of both.)  I enjoyed the book and thought it was probably the strongest in the series so far.  It tied together and explained a lot of points from earlier books.  Also, I really liked the moments of fierceness  that came out coupled with very quiet scenes.  There were a few things that I personally was disappointed by, but overall it was a good read and I'm looking forward to the last book in the series.

"Goddess of Spring" by P.C. Cast

I first got hooked on P,C. Cast by reading the House of Night books (I still love them and am looking forward to the release of the next one).  Since then I've read a lot of Cast's books.

"Goddess of the Spring" is part of her "Goddess Summoning" book set.  All of these books take myths or fairy tales and mix them up with modern women and love stories.

"Goddess of the Spring" sees the spring goddess Persephone, changing places with a bakery owner from Oklahoma.  Not only does she get mixed up in the world of gods and goddesses, she also gets sent on a mission to the underworld.  Trust me, after this book hell will seem hot and steamy for totally different reasons.

This isn't mythology as you know it, and it's not trying to be academic or historic.  Mostly the book is just a lot of fun.

To read my review of "Goddess of Spring" by P. C. Cast, click here.
To visit Cast's official website, click here.

The Mammoth Book of Wolfmen: The Ultimate Werewolf Anthology

Traditionally vampires have been more popular than werewolves.  This is probably because--if we're being honest--vampires (the beautiful undead) are sexier than werewolves (people who turn into over sized dogs).   There seems to be a lot more fiction about vampires than werewolves, or else werewolves show up as secondary characters in vampire books (like in the Twilight books).

It was a refreshing change, then, to read the Mammoth anthology of werewolf short stories.  Mammoth always does a good job with their short story anthologies, and this one is particularly good.  I really liked the wide range of short stories in "Wolfmen".  There were a lot of very different takes on werewolves, and stories ranged from classic horror to postmodern thoughtfulness.  Like in any anthology, some of the short stories are better than others.  On the whole, though, the standard is surprisingly high.  If you like werewolves, it's definitely something you should read.  And if you don't like werewolves, you might be surprised by how much you enjoy some of these stories.

To read my full review of The Mammoth Book of Wolfmen, click here.

"Personal Demon" by Kelley Armstrong

I'll keep this relatively brief as I've written on here about other books by Kelley Armstrong.  We all know that if you're looking for a certain genre of supernatural fiction, then she's the woman to be reading.

"Personal Demon" is the eight book in her "Women of the Otherworld" series, and centers on half-demon Hope Adams.  This wasn't my personal favorite in the series, but I enjoyed getting more story about the side characters from other novels and seeing how other familiar characters popped up in this book.  It's very fast-paced with a detective type element to it.

To read my review of "Personal Demon", click here.
To visit Kelley Armstrong's official website, click here.

"Midnight Never Come" by Marie Brennan

"Midnight Never Come" is a historical fantasy novel.  It's set in Elizabethan England, but describes an underground fairy court in addition to the Tudor one that history teaches us about.  Even though it is a fantasy novel, it was very carefully researched both in terms of history and folklore.

Overall, though, I have to admit that I was disapointed by "Midnight Never Come".  The novel had so much potential and could have been really exciting.  In the end, though, it just didn't manage to fully capture my attention or imagination.  Brennan had a great concept, but --for me-- the novel didn't execute her idea as well as it could have.

To find out more about "Midnight Never Come" by Marie Brennan, either read my article on the book or visit Brennan's website.

"Evermore" by Alyson Noel

Teen fiction is big business.  Not only do teens read, lots of pre-teens and adults read teen books (technically young adult literature). 

"The Immortals" is a series of books written primarily for teen girls by Alyson Noel.  Basically there are "immortals".  They're people who live forever (unless killed).  They're not vampires or other traditional immortal creatures, but instead seem to get their immortality from a weird red drink that they chug.  There's a cheesy high school love story complete with jealousy and family issues.

These books, beginning with "Evermore", are really popular.  Either that or someone is filling up warehouses with them, because they've been best sellers.  Being honest, though, I have to say that these are far from the best teen fiction books--even teen paranormal romance books--that I have read.  The characters just aren't real enough for me, and it's all just a bit too melodramatic.  I'd recommend reading other books like "The House of Night" series or the "Generation Dead" series.  Even if you want cheesy romance, you'd be better off sticking to the "Twilight" books.

To find out more about "Evermore" either click here or visit Alyson Noel's official website.

If you like "Evermore", be sure to check out the sequel, "Blue Moon".

"Sex, Lies, and Vampires" by Katie Macalister

If you like vampire fiction and don't want to read teen novels, then you should know who Katie Macalister is.  She's famous for writing vampire fiction that is action-packed (in every connotation of the word).

Her "Dark Ones" series has nine books in it, plus several other associated books.  "Sex, Lies, and Vampires" is the third book in the "Dark Ones" series.  What's great about these books is that although it is best to read the series in order, you can actually read a lot of them out of sequence or on their own and still enjoy (and understand) them.

This isn't literary vampires or classic vampire fiction.  The "Dark Ones" books (including "Sex, Lies, and Vampires") are contemporary, sexy, and fun.

To read my longer review of "Sex, Lies, and Vampires" by Katie Macalister, click here.
To visit Katie Macalister's official website, click here.

"Blue Moon" by Alyson Noel

"The Immortals" is a popular series of young adult books by Alyson Noel. 

The main character, high-schooler Ever, has a troubled history.  When she meets Damen, she finds love and moments of peace and happiness.  However, falling in love with an immortal brings melodramatic new problems.

"Blue Moon" is the second book in "The Immortals" series.  In it, new couple Ever and Damen meet continued challenges as a mysterious new person joins their social scene and Damen begins to change.  Ever and Damen are getting further apart, and Ever must find a way to save them all before it's too late.

As you've probably guessed by now, these books are cheesy and melodramatic.  "Blue Moon" does offer some mindless entertainment, and it's a very quick read.  It's definitely not the best book that I've read in this genre though.

To read my full book review of "Blue Moon" by Alyson Noel, click here.
To visit Alyson Noel's official website, click here.

"No Humans Involved" by Kelley Armstrong

I've written about Kelley Armstrong books in her "Women of the Otherworld" series before.  This series of books is roughly chronological, but it is about a wide range of characters rather than strictly following one storyline.  The main characters of one book become side characters in another, and the books are all interconnected rather than necessarily following on from each other.  For me, this makes for an enjoyable series.  The variety keeps the "Women of the Otherworld" books interesting.

In "No Humans Involved", the main character is Jaime Vegas.  She's a necromancer, meaning that she can communicate with (and even reanimate) the dead.  Throw in an unsolved murder, ghosts, cults, werewolves, and romance, and you've got "No Humans Involved".  It's a fun book to read.


To read my longer book review of "No Humans Involved" by Kelley Armstrong, click here.
To visit Kelley Armstrong's official website, click here.

"Frostbitten" by Kelley Armstrong

If you like contemporary fantasy fiction, then you're probably already familiar with Kelley Armstrong's books.  She has written both adult and teen fiction (for a mostly female audience, although I think men would enjoy the books as well) about werewolves, witches, half-demons, necromancers, and other fantasy characters.  However, these are all set as a subculture within the real present-day world.  Her books are entertaining and full of action.

I recently read Armstrong's novel "Frostbitten".  It's one of the Women of the Otherworld books, and the main character is werewolf Elena (first introduced in the book "Bitten").  Although "Frostbitten" could be read as a stand-alone book, I recommend going back and reading other books in the series first.  If you've enjoyed the previous books, you'll enjoy "Frostbitten".

For my full review of "Frostbitten" by Kelley Armstrong, click here.

"Divine by Mistake" by P.C. Cast

I mentioned in my last post that I read the short story anthology "Darkness Divine".  P.C. Cast's story in that anthology seemed odd as a stand-alone work.  After reading it, I realized that the story is associated with Cast's "Divine" series of books.  So I read the first book in the series, "Divine by Mistake".

The basic gist of the book is that a modern woman (Shannon) exchanges places with her counterpart in a sort of mythological parallel universe (Partholon).  There she's expected to be high priestess/goddess incarnate, help fight off hordes of evil invaders, and figure out a relationship with a sexy centaur.  Cast's writing is--as I expect from her--very involving and entertaining.

To read my full review of "Divine by Mistake", click here.

"Darkness Divine" anthology

I was browsing the library recently, randomly looking through books.  In the fantasy & sci-fi section I noticed the book "Darkness Divine". The cover art was mediocre, but it grabbed my attention because the name P.C. Cast was on the cover. I'd recently read her newest "House of Night" book, so I figured it was worth checking out "Darkness Divine".



"Darkness Divine" is actually a collection of long-ish short stories by contemporary women fantasy writers: P.C. Cast, Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, and Rhyannon Byrd.  As is typical in an anthology, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others.  Overall it was a fairly fast and entertaining book to read.  Most of the stories just offered tasters of that author's style and type of subject matter, so it's a good guide to the genre if you're looking at getting books by some of these authors.

To read my longer review of "Darkness Divine", click here.