Review of To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory

Title: To Kill a Warlock
Author: H.P. Mallory
Pages: 210
Source: Obtained free from Amazon (July 3, 2012)
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: The murder of a dark arts warlock.A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.

Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world.

When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.

To Kill a Warlock is a hilarious read that is pure enjoyment.

Dulcie is a fun character. She's spunky, quirky and really wants to be a romance writer...oh and she's also a fairy. Dulcie is somehow corralled into working with this gorgeous stranger to catch a murder, and her life gets flipped upside down in the process. While the situation may not be ideal, Dulcie is the type of character to do what is needed of her, even if it means red leather, and black feathers.  I did really liked Dulcie as a character, but I wish she would have had a little more depth.  She was funny, but I felt like by the end of the novel I never really got to know her. For me, if I don't feel attached to the main characters I have a hard time connecting with the rest of the book.

H.P. Mallory made sure to not forget any paranormal creature as she was writing To Kill a Warlock. We've got vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches, loki and even a gnome. I loved the interesting mix of paranormal creatures and the plot that intertwined them all was easy to follow and kept you wanting more.  There are some fun scenes where Knight is partially possessed by the creatures blood and he becomes quite the horny teenage boy.  I was literally laughing out loud and could feel Dulcie’s frusteration. 

To Kill a Warlock was a fast read that quite entertaining.  It is one of those reads I would consider "mind candy", but hey who doesn't like a treat every now and then?  If you're looking for a book that's light, fun and easy to get lost To Kill a Warlock is the perfect choice.

Review of Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Title: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Narrator: Johanna Parker
Published by: Recorded Books Inc.
Length: 8 sound discs (9 hr., 30 min.)
Source: Libary
Format: Audio
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

Sookie, Sookie, Sookie...we are on the 12th book and people are still trying to kill you.  Don't get me wrong, I love this series.  I've read and listened to all the books, however, they are all starting to sound the same. 

After Sookie is summoned to Eric's house to entertain Felipe de Castro, all hell brakes loose when they find a dead girl on Eric's front lawn.  After the last book I expected the wrath of Felipe de Castro to be a little more terrifying.  He is supposed to be this big bad vamp and yet a lot of the book didn't focus on that.  In fact, it didn't focus much on vampires at all much to my disappointment.  I wanted some quality Eric time and this book didn't deliver that, instead it focused mostly on Sookie.

Sookie is her typical self; a little flighty, quick tempered, and forced into awkward and dangerous situations.  However, she does seems to be doing a little soul searching in this novel.  She looks over her life and all the things and people in it.  I think this may be leading up into the big decision that the next (and last) book in the series will hold.  Who does Sookie really belong with? Eric, Bill, Sam, Alcide or someone completely new and human? 

The plot was pretty much the same as all the rest of the books in the series.  Though the ending does bring a bit of a surprise that I wasn't expecting.  Overall, I felt like this book was pretty much setting up everything for the final installment of the series.  It wrapped up a couple of loose ends and set up some decisions Sookie will have to make about her life. 

Even with its predictability and typicality's it was still a fun book to listen to.  I enjoyed listening to Johanna Parker read as Sookie.  I know she's narrated some Meg Cabot and Jennifer Weiner books, but to me she will always be Sookie. 

Review of Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Bitten (Women of the Otherworld #1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Narrator: Aasne Vigesaa
Published by: Brilliance Corporation
Length: 11 Compact Discs / 13 hours
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Young, beautiful, and successful, Elena Michaels seems to have it all. Her happy, organized life follows a predictable pattern: filing stories for her job as a journalist, working out at the gym, living with her architect boyfriend, and lunching with her girlfriends from the office. And once a week, in the dead of night, she streaks through a downtown ravine, naked and furred, tearing at the throats of her animal prey.

Elena Michaels is a werewolf.

The man who made her one has been left behind, but his dark legacy has not. And though Elena struggles to maintain the normal life she's worked so hard to create, she cannot resist the call of the elite pack of werewolves from her past. Her feral instincts will lead her back to them and into a desperate war for survival that will test her own understanding of who, and what, she is.

I must admit that it took my a while to get into this book.  I think part of the reason was Elena.  While I admired her strength and spunk, I wasn't a huge fan of her need to pretend to be someone she's not.  I felt like she was putting on an act for her boyfriend and his family.  She was portraying herself as a person she knew he wanted her to be.  If you can't be yourself in a relationship than I don't think that is a real relationship.  She was so much more fun when she was smart-mouthed and feisty with her pack.   

The pack itself was quite interesting.  I really enjoyed hearing about each member and their relationship to Elena.  I fell for Clay hard, but then after hearing what he did, I held a little grudge.  If I was Elena I don't know if this would be something I could get over.  I don't want to give anything away but it was really interesting pulling pieces of Elena's history out and seeing how I would have reacted or handled the situation differently.  She led a difficult life and that definitely contributed to her choices. 

The plot kind of confused me a little.  I'm guessing this has to do with listening to the audio though.  I liked Aasne Vigesaa and thought she had a beautiful voice, I just think that I messed up the characters a lot because of how many there were.  I was confused on who was who and what each person wanted.  I don't think this would have happened if I read it, but the audio itself was really well done.  For me, there was just too many people and too much going on for me to keep it straight while listening to the story.

I am intrigued by this series now and I can't wait to find out what happens next and who I will meet.