Far From Center (Imp World #20) by Debra Dunbar

The Arch Angel Gabriel cares so much about his vibration level and staying pure that he eschews all physical pleasures but it does make him particularly dedicated to his work.  After searching for a fellow angel for eons, Gabriel finally has a bead upon one of the angels responsible for the rebellion in Aaru. As an Arch Angel, Gabriel has little to fear and so he's certain that he will get his target, until a confrontation with a human that turns hims temporarily human.  Without access to his grace, Gabriel is forced to continue the mission in order to stop a dangerous artifact from ending up in the wrong hands. This may well mean his life and if that were not bad enough, Gabriel, having been an immortal being since creation, has no real idea how to navigate the human world or how to keep his body healthy. 

I normally wouldn't start on the 20th book in a series but I made a mistake and thought that Far From Center was part of the Imp series by the same author.  Fortunately, having read most of the Imp books, I am quite familiar with the characters in question and was able to follow the story quite well. If you find yourself in the same situation, feel free to jump in because it will give you a more intense look at characters that are largely side characters in the man Imp series. 

I'm a little caught as to exactly what genre to put Far From Center in. The originating series is most certainly straight up urban fantasy whereas; Far From Center absolutely brings in elements of paranormal romance, even if the romance doesn't completely drive the plot.  Without the relationship between Nyalla and Gabriel, the book certainly would not have had the same intensity and Dunbar did end the book with an expected HEA. I suppose the best way to describe this book is that it's a bit of both.

One of the things that attracts me to Dubar's work is that she's not afraid of the ridiculous and is quite often laugh out loud funny. I'm happy to report that From From Center is no exception. Gabriel first runs into trouble when he's discovered sorting and folding Nyalla's underwear because his OCD simply won't allow him to search for the item he needs without cleaning up the mess she's left behind. Even his so-called dirty talk is all about how messy Nyalla is because never having had intercourse, he has no idea what dirty talk is supposed to be about. I even found myself laughing when he began reading a bodice ripper and got completely caught up about whether pirate would make it to shore before ravishing the protagonist who chest kept heaving. All of these situations work because as a human, Gabriel is a fish out of water. 

 Gabriel is the quintessential middle child trapped between his older sibling, who he wants to emulate and his younger siblings who are far more carefree than he could even hope to be. Gabriel has spent his long immortal life striving for perfection in an attempt to become closer to the divine, even as he takes on the burdens of everything that's wrong with the world. Gabriel in short, is far harder on himself than everyone else and it has resulted in an extremely lonely existence. Gabriel is actually a virgin, having not mated with an angel because he never felt worthy or a human because he believed such a dalliance would lead to disaster for a human mate. The scene in which Nyalla and Gabriel decide to consummate their relationship is so unbelievably touching and beautiful.

Justice Calling (The Twenty-Sided Sorceress #1) by Annie Bellet

Jade Crow has been on the run for quite some time but she's finally found peace in Wylde, Idaho. The supernatural community is attracted to Wylde because of the ley lines and the town is actually home to a plethora of magical creatures, though shifters seem to make up the majority of the population. Jade has built a fine life for herself, including friends and her own business.  Everything comes to a halt however when a Justice ( the shifters version of judge, jury and executioner) arrives in town, certain that Jade has committed some terrible crime. 

Because the Justice is able to read the truth of someone's answers, Jade is quickly let off the hook. Trouble however still finds Jade when a resident is found frozen in their animal form. Jade must now decide whether to help the sexy Russian Justice who just happens to turn into the biggest tiger ever and her friends, or flee before her abusive ex boyfriend shows up and makes a snack of her to gain her power. 

Justice Calling shouldn't really be called a book because at best it's a novella. It gives us a peak at the world and the rather large cast of characters, without really giving us a chance to know any of them in depth. Even Jade Crow, who is the protagonist is pretty much a mystery. All we learn about Jade is that she is a sorcerer, is on the run from an abusive ex and is a total geek. It really feels like Bellet was going through a check list when she was creating these characters.  There are LGBT characters, and Crow it seems is a protagonist of colour. Part of the reason why it felt like a check list is because there's no real characterisation to flesh them out, let alone cultural references that situate them properly. Bellet seemed more concerned with geek bonafides because she filled the book with gaming, movie and pop culture references that would have the geeks grinning with glee, even though they didn't really serve well in terms of character development. 

There's really not much tension in Justice Calling and I am going to crack this up to the fact that it's a novella masquerading as a book.  There are no twists and turns to speak of. Even the antagonist is so basic that it's hard to give him that label.  There's a budding romance between Jade and Justice but it's so paint by numbers that it's not even remotely interesting and there's no real reason to invest in this relationship.  We don't know much about Justice but I really didn't like the way he accused Jade of not having a life because she was thinking about leaving. It's clear that we are meant to see Jade as an abused woman and having a safe space from a known abuser is not cowardice or even selfishness as I feel that Justice implied but a matter of life and death. 

Having Jade be an abused woman could have been an interesting story point and it makes me ill saying that but Bellet didn't offer much meat to the story Bellet could have made this book into a novel by delving into Jade's past and how she came to reside in Wylde but instead she skimmed over the details barely giving us any real perspective. The story really could have been Jade the survivor. By making the decision to treat Jade's past in this fashion, Bellet cheated Jade and she absolutely cheated her readers. I assume that Justice Calling was meant to sell this series but it did a marginal job at best. It wasn't chessy enough to be good fluff and just enough fluff to not be taken seriously.  There's nothing to get lost in here at all. 

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Seven: Angel Heart

The first season has essentially been about the residents of Midnight dealing with their secrets, past or whatever is haunting them. So far, Olivia, Manfred, Bobo and Creek have all had issues that the community in some form or other have helped them  deal with. This week, it's Joe's turn.

From pretty much the first episode, I've been complaining about the limited role that Chuy has been given.  In order to save Creek in Blinded by the Light, Joe revealed to the community that he is an angel.  This revelation as it turns out is not without consequences.  Joe is a fallen angel and it turns out that his mentor Bowie, isn't pleased with Joe's relationship. 

Bowie swaggers into town with a red leather trench coat (gotta say I love this look) and begins her search for Joe. The first person she meets is the reverend and when he won't answer her questions, she is quick to knock him unconscious. Joe is at loss as to what to do because Bowie is far older than he is and consequently much stronger.  It's Chuy who suggests that they need to turn to the friends that they've made in Midnight and ask for help.

Manfred is on his way to the meet up when he sees Bowie walking towards him and so he quickly turns around and heads into the van to get help from Xylda. It turns out that not only is Bowie a kick ass angel, she can read minds. In order to stop Bowie from being able to read where Joe is hiding from his brain, Manfred has Xylda enter his body. It's creepy and funny at the same time. Does anyone really want to share their body with a relative?

Manfred finally makes it to Olivia's and meets up with the gang.  It's now time for Joe to finally tell everyone the whole truth about who he is and his past. Joe reveals that he is an angel and that Bowie was his mentor.  Joe says that Bowie wasn't pleased that he fell in love with Chuy. It's Creek who wonders whether the is issue is that both Joe and Chuy are men.  It turns out that the issue is that Chuy is half a demon. It seems that Chuy's demon father raped his mother and his mother taught him to suppress his demon side.  Joe and Chuy met when Chuy was given a beat down by a group of men who stole everything from him. Joe was impressed that Chuy didn't fight back because he believed that if they stole from it was probably based in need.  Chuy and Joe have actually been a couple for quite some time. The crew is shocked to learn about Chuy and not impressed that though Joe and Chuy have lived in Midnight for quite some time, this is the first time they are finding out who Joe and Chuy actually are.  Creek in particular is not impressed and wonders if everyone is keeping dark secrets. 

Bowie is getting frustrated in her search for Joe and so she heads to the diner where of course Creek is working.  Bowie fixates on Creek when she recognises Creek from what she was able to pick up in Manfred's mind.  The people in the diner are naturally defensive of Creek, given what she has gone through recently but Bowie has absolutely zero empathy.  It seems that just like Joe, Bowie is now fallen.  Bowie uses what she has learned about Creek's family to hurt her terribly. Bowie uses Creek's phone to call Manfred and demand that Joe turn himself in.

The truth coming out about Joe and Chuy gives rise to a conversation between Lemuel and Olivia.  Lemuel and Olivia see themselves as a mixed couple, not because of race but because he is a vampire and she is human. It's clear that Lemuel always assumed that when the time came, he would just turn Olivia but she has other plans. Olivia knows that their relationship has an expiration date because she will continue to age while Lemuel stays the same and she will only be able to work for so long.  When the time comes, Olivia plans on leaving Midnight and Lemuel behind her because she doesn't want to be turned. Olivia wants them to enjoy what they have now for as long as they can.  Lemuel nods his head in agreement but is clearly not pleased with Olivia's assertion.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Five: Unearthed

I'm just going to admit it, Midnight Texas has really started to grow on me, despite my reservations due to the fact that it's based on a series by Charlaine Harris.  Midnight Texas knows that it's cheese but still tries to infuse each episode with some drama.  It alternates between the serious and the camp quite well. So far, each episode has been about delving into backstories as a form of characterisation. In Unearthed, Bobo and Manfred are forced to deal with their pasts.

It begins for Manfred when a rock is thrown at his door. Manfred steps on his front porch to find a Manfred in box, containing a note to be at a certain location at a specific time. That's right, after all of his running, Hightower has finally found him. Xylda's advice is that Manfred simply skip the meeting. Running is what Manfred has always done but that was before he entered into a relationship with Creek. Manfred suggests to Creek that the two of them run and hide but Creek isn't about to leave her father and her brother.  Unwilling to leave Creek behind, Manfred decides that it's time to face Hightower at last.  Creek encourages Manfred to seek out the help of his neighbours but Manfred is determined to go it alone.  Creek heads to the pawnshop and sells a bunch of antiques to Bobo for 15K to pay off his debt.  Bobo picks up on the fact that Manfred is in trouble and suggests that Manfred take a gun with him. 

Bobo doesn't offer to help Manfred because he has his own problems to deal with. Earlier in the day, the biker gang drove through town and set his pawn shop on fire.  Fortunately, the town acted quickly to save the building, in the process saving Olivia and Lem's life.  It turns out however that the fire was simply a distraction so that the biker gang could kidnap Fiji.  It's Mr. Snuggles who delivers the bad news.  Fiji is taken to a building site, drugged and hidden underground. Bobo quickly gets together the ransom to free Fiji but before he can deliver it, Lem arrives at the pawnshop wanting to know what the hell is going on.  Bobo is a little resistant but when Lem points out that whatever the problem is almost got he and Olivia killed, Bobo decides to reveal his past. 

It turns out that Bobo is the son of well to do white supremacists.  When he was 17, his father took him along for a ride and he sat in the car while his father set a church on fire.  From that night on, Bobo decided that he wanted nothing to do with his family and so he stole their cache of guns, gold, and cash and left.  He's been hiding in Midnight ever since and has become something of an urban legend. Bobo figures out that the leaders of the Sons of Satan must have figured out who he really is.  Given the danger, Lemuel decides to tag along, despite Bobo being told that he has to go alone.

Manfred arrives at the location Hightower picked at the appointed time and runs into Olivia.  While Manfred was busy selling his family treasures to Bobo, Creek enlisted Olivia's help. Manfred's so incompetent that he still has the safety on his gun.  Manfred tries to send Olivia away but Olivia feels that she owes him for saving Lem from vampires. When Manfred and Olivia meet up with Hightower, he uses telekinesis to take Olivia and Manfred's guns away, forcing them to take cover. Once the guns are empty, Manfred tries to confront Hightower but it seems that Hightower is in no mood to make peace because he figures that Manfred owes him a lot more than money. It turns out that Manfred agreed to marry Hightower's daughter Violent in return for 100K but and Xyla stole the money and left Violet alone at the alter. A few days later, Violet committed suicide. Hightower wants vengeance  for the loss of his daughter which he blames on Manfred and he uses his powers to toss broken glass at Olivia and Manfred, forcing them both to flea.

Bobo drives to the meet with the Sons of Satan and Lemuel is hiding under the vehicle. Bobo hands over the cache of weapons and cash and is beaten for his trouble. Now that Lowry finally has his hands on Bobo, he's not about to let Bobo go. What's interesting is that Lowry repeatedly accuses Bobo of killing his wife, even though Bobo denies having anything to do with it.  Bobo is taken to see Fiji and Lowry delights in talking about Bobo's white supremacist past and his part in the church bombing, before leaving Bobo and Fiji locked together.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Four: Sexy Beast

This week's monster is a man eating succubus. We've been warned that the end might be nigh by the resident angel Joe and proof of that is the fact that more than ever, supernatural creatures are being drawn to the area. So, there the succubus is sitting by the side of the road when she's picked up by Ted, a dudebro who might as well have asshole tattoos on his forehead.  We're conditioned not to have any sympathy for dudebro because it seems that he's stolen and sold his father's Rolex. Predictably, when the dudbro is coerced into pulling over, he becomes snack food for the succubus. 

Creek and Manfred are getting all domestic though Creek is still very much adamant that their relationship needs to stay on the downlow because her father is certain that Manfred will break her heart. I'm getting kind of tired of the policing of Creek's sexuality at this point and it seems that it won't end anytime soon.  Manfred says that he's not a bad guy and that he might be entitled to catch a break after saving them all from vampires.  Yeah, I'm team Manfred on this one. When Creek leaves, Manfred checks his phone only to find some ominous messages from Hightower. Yes, Manfred is on the run but only because he's being held responsible for his grandmother's debt. At any rate, Hightower reaching out to Manfred is enough for Manfred to decide that he needs to make some cash.

Ted's sister Patsy shows up to hire Manfred, to see if she can find out where Ted is and if Ted has the Rolex.  Manfred starts to turn Patsy down but when she offers 5K, Manfred takes the job. Manfred does his thing and he sees Ted's spirit, who talks about being snacked on "like a taco" by a hot blonde woman.   Manfred decides to investigate and when he finds the succubus, she is cleaning up in a truckstop bathroom after killing yet another man. When the succubus makes her play for Manfred, he's quick to take his leave, declaring that he's just not into her.

Back in Midnight, Fiji is getting ready for a dinner date that she's planned with Bobo.  Fiji asks Olivia to join her but Olivia declines because she has a job to do. Olivia points out that this is the perfect opportunity for Fiji to get with Bobo and recommends that Fiji step away from the peasant gear for the night. Later, as Fiji is setting the stage for her romantic dinner, she gets a call from Bobo saying that he'll be over as soon as he changes out of work gear. Of course, Bobo isn't getting ready for a hot date but trying to meet up with bikers now that he knows that they've killed the sheriff. 

Olivia's job is to kill a man who has robbed people of their 401Ks. The mark tries to plead that it was only money but he doesn't get any sympathy from Olivia on this. Olivia points out that families can be ruined by having their life savings stolen.  Olivia does the deed and leaves the building but pauses when she notices a man who was watching her when she was in the building is now sitting outside in his car.  For Olivia, this is too much of a coincidence and so she drugs him and carts him back to Midnight for a little casual waterboarding. It doesn't take long for the man to admit that he was hired by her father who supposedly just wants to keep track of Olivia and ensure that she's okay. Olivia becomes emotional and asks Lemuel to feed from her.  Lemuel is happy to oblige but he's concerned that Olivia is so upset.  After Lemuel feeds, Olivia is back to her normal self and doesn't want to discuss it.

Mr. Snuggly (oh how I love that talking cat) is facing reality faster than Fiji.  Mr.Snuggly makes his bid to have Fiji feed him some Sheppard's pie because it's become clear that Bobo isn't going to show up. Fiji holds onto hope until Joe calls and finally cancels. 

It's time for a meeting of the Midnight supernatural club.  Manfred describes what the succubus looks like to Joe, who does a sketch.  They're able to identify the succubus and Joe claims that succubi are attracted to men who've harmed women. So you know damn well that this gets Creek's attention because all the men in her family are suspicious of Manfred. At any rate, this is when Creek's little brother Connor shows up. It seems that Connor has been following Manfred all over town to see what he's up to.  Yeah, that's creepy as all get out and I don't care that Connor is only 17.  Creek is quick to send Connor on his way. 

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Three: Lemuel, Unchained

In a clear act of rebellion against her father, Creek and Manfred finally get it on. Creek makes it clear to Manfred that they don't have a real relationship and that her father cannot find out about the two of them. We've seen that while Midnight might be a safe place for supernaturals that it's not necessarily a safe space for humans but despite that Manfred has no problem letting Creek walk home alone. Quite unsurprisingly, Creek is accosted on her way home by a group of vampires who've just arrived in town.

It's Lemuel to the rescue.  It turns out that the new vampires are lead by Lemuel's creator Zachariah. Lemuel is quick to vouch for Zachariah and his crew, especially when Zachariah declares himself to be a much changed vampire. Midnight Texas has a fairly large cast and we're still getting to know who these characters are and what their supernatural abilities are. Lemuel Unchained is a chance to explore Lemuel's backstory.

It turns out that Lemuel was a slave.  In the flashback, we are treated to Lemuel being tied to the whipping post and scourged.  I'm not going to argue that the whipping of slaves wasn't commonplace but this feels gratuitous, particularly because Lemuel doesn't seem to suffer any ill effect and begins to plot his escape. I've really had enough of black torture porn in the media, especially when there's no context other than entertainment value. Lemuel manages to escape to the desert and meets up with Zachariah. At this point, all Lemuel wants is freedom and he's willing to pay any cost to have it.  Zachariah turns Lemuel into a vampire and together they return to the site of Lemuel's captivity and feast on the slave owners. Lemuel slakes his hate with the blood of those who owned him. 

In the present, the residents of Midnight don't necessarily feel secure, even though Lemuel has vouched for Zachariah.  It's time to gather at the church, a place it seems that the residents don't really utilise much. In a bit more info dumping, we learn that nothing we know about vampires applies. This means that vampires don't need an invitation to enter a home, and that garlic and holy water are useless.  Vampires however can be killed with a stake through the heart, or being exposed to daylight and that silver bullets hurt. Okay, now we know the ground rules. 

At the bar, Lemuel is in full blown reunion mode with Zachariah.  What could vampires possibly reminisce about beyond blood and violence? Olivia, is not pleased with the goings on, particularly when a female vampire gets a little to close for comfort to Lemuel.  Determined to lay her claim on Lemuel, Olivia lays a kiss on him. Maybe Olivia and Lemuel are closer than they appear. Olivia may not want to be turned, but she's not above jealousy. 

After getting a lesson in Vampire 101, Manfred tries to get a hold of Creek. Unfortunately, when Creek's father sees whose calling, he declines the call. Manfred decides to leave the sanctuary of the church to ensure Creek's safety. 

Creek is at home sharpening stakes when her brother walks in.  Creek immediately tries to hide them but is forced to reveal that vampires are in town and that the stakes are just a precaution.  On his way to see Creek, Manfred stops off at a hardware store only to find the proprietor dead. Unsurprisingly, the vampire who fed on the store owner is still hungry and decides that Manfred is his next snack. Manfred is able to kill the vampire with a pencil and a sharp kick. Okay, I call bullshit on the idea that a pencil could be used to penetrate a human body so deeply without breaking and falling to pieces.  

Joe goes into confession mode with Emilio regarding his true identity. We learn that Joe is a fallen angel and is now content to live his life with the man that he loves.  Is anyone else dying to know exactly why it is that Joe has fallen? It better not be because he's gay. Joe tells Emilio about the danger facing Midnight because he plans on leaving town with Chuy and feels that someone should know about the true threat the town is facing.

The Legend of the Blue Eyes (Blue Eyes Trilogy #1) by B. Kristin McMichael

With the death of her parents, Arianna is being raised by her aunt and uncle. Naturally, having no memory of her parents, Arianna constantly questions what little family she has about her origins, only to meet a brick wall each time. Fortunately for Arianna, she's come across a source who claims to have all the answers that she has been searching for. With Arianna's sixteenth birthday approaching, she is about to pass a threshold which will change her life forever and she will finally have the answers she's so long sought.  

The Legend of the Blue Eyes reads like Aryan nation YA.  I will never get back the hours back I lost reading this book and will forever feel as though Kristin McMichael stole from me.  Throughout The Legend of the Blue Eyes, we are continually reminded how super special Arianna is. Her blue eyes make her stand out amongst her people, who are all brown eyed.  If that were not enough, she's blonde and extremely petite. Never for one minute could I as a reader forget about how Arianna's blue eyes, blonde hair, and petite stature make her super special because McMichael never seems to tire of repeating Arianna's physical description, nor did they tire of reminding us of Arianna's super special specialness as a result.  The Legend of the Blue Eyes is absolutely the exaltation of Whiteness and in particular, White womanhood. Pointing to random black dude on a bus only reifies everything that's wrong with this book.

Part of the shtick when it comes to YA is that the protagonist is always just figuring out who they are.  McMichael doubles down on this by never ever giving any answers, content to remind the reader that Arianna is super duper special.  We learn that supernaturals are divided into groups and that for some reason they're all at war.  Arianna, as it turns out is the daughter of two supernaturals from rival groups - a Romeo & Julliet. It made me want to scream that we're all familiar with this story and Shakespeare did it better, even with the Elizabethan English. 

As I mentioned, Arianna is the super special one and so people love her, stare at her and want to be around her.  This means that Arianna has to have personal security round the clock.  Her blood is highly prized and is capable of healing a whole host of aliments.  Arianna doesn't realise the true strength of her power and  beyond knowing that killing a child might not be quite right, she seems to have no problem listening in as her grandfather slaps the shit of her guard for daring to drink the blood she offered. She also seems to have no problem with her grandfather threatening to kill anyone who drinks her blood.  Sure, we are told that her grandfather is an old bastard and given the sense that he has a ruthless past, but McMichael never expands on that and instead seems content to remind us that Arianna is loved by her grandpappy, who's a mean bastard and therefore; this makes her even more super special.

Elemental Arcane (The Eldritch Files #1) by Phaedra Weldon

Samantha Hawthorn was born into a legacy of elemental witches. Because Samantha's mother being killed in the line of duty, she was  raised by her aunt and her father. It makes Sam a bit of an outsider but that doesn't stop her building great friendships with other witches which serve as an unofficial coven.  Life as an elemental witch is always busy and always dangerous and when a woman shows up at Sam's magical store looking for help because her little girl is trying to kill her, Sam has no choice but jump into battle.  Sam would rather be spending her time with all too human boyfriend and avoiding Crwys, the demon whose eye she's caught but when the fae have targeted you, there's no choice but to fight back.

I must admit that the first chapter of this book drew me in.  It's actually one of the best first chapters that I've read and led me to believe that I was in for a real treat in Elemental Arcane.  I thought that I would be giving this book a five star review but it seems that level of writing is something that Weldon wasn't capable of sustaining for an entire book. It's a shame really because the rest of the book really let down its stellar opening.

Part of the problem for me is that Weldon seemed determined to describe every damn little element of the story.  We don't really need to know what Sam's dream little garden room looks like in excruciating detail, particularly because the room doesn't play a critical role in the story. Why oh why dose Weldon feel compelled to tell us about the weather in nearly every damn scene. We get it, it looks cloudy and it might rain but Sam isn't concerned about getting wet. Did she think that we would forget that New Orleans is having an overcast day?

Sam spends most of the story moving in circles acting like a chicken with her head cut off.  We are told that Sam really cares about her human boyfriend Robin and yet, with a very great possibility of him dying, she rarely doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about him. Even though Robin knows that Samantha is a witch, she doesn't bother to tell him what is going on, thus letting him believe that he's guilty of killing his own niece.  That's love for you.

There are times when I don't think that Sam has the sense of a concussed penguin as well.  She's told about a magical book that everyone who uses dies and of course, she has to run right for it.  Sam doesn't spend anytime actually thinking and seems to just react to whatever the antagonist throws at her without question. When you know damn well that you're walking into a trap but do so anyway without any freaking backup, you're officially too stupid to survive. Of course, because Samantha is the protagonist she survives this.

Because Samantha is such a super special girl, Crwys, who's an extremely long lived being seems to have a thing for her.  He even saves Samantha from her own stupidity and tries to warn her when she's hitting out of her league. What does Samantha do? Well of course she threatens to banish him and his BFF. Apparently, she gets to decide who sticks around yet she's running around ignorant about the very world she claims to be mistress of.

The Originals, Season Four, Episode Four: The Keepers of the House

Because a dark force Vincent let loose in an effort to deal with Marcel's first attempt at leadership of New Orleans, Hope and several children are actively in danger.  The Originals are set to return to the city to help to find a cure for Hope. Since the entire first family has sworn to keep Hope safe not matter what, this means a return to New Orleans with Marcel's express permission.

As much as Freya is worried about what's going on with Hope, she also sees this as the perfect opportunity to sneak into Marcel's abode and steal a sample of his venom.  To do this, Freya ropes in Keelin.  Is it me, or does anyone else think that the writers are going to make Freya and Keelin a couple? There's a part of me that really wants to see that and another part of me is screaming against it because Freya had no problem torturing Keelin to benefit her family.

Will is playing out his little part in the drama. Having taken control of the ambulance containing the kids, they are driven to an area where a group of people have gathered to prepare for a ritual.  This doesn't bode well of the kids. Will is given a token with a serpent sigil on it to help him deal what's to come. Yes, they are predicting that Vincent is going to be a problem. 

After getting assurances from the Originals that they'll leave town as soon as he heals Hope, Vincent gets to work.  After Vincent finishes his spell, Hope sits up claiming to be just fine. Hope moves to see Klaus but birds start dropping from the ceiling. The dead crows form a circle around Hope. It's suitably creepy. Having Vincent just magically cure Hope would have been just too easy and so predictably, Hope's fever returns. 

Elijah heads to offer his services to Vincent in the hope of curing Hope.  Vincent is very reluctant to working with Elijah because he sees through Elijah's impeccable grooming to the monster beneath.  

Hayley interrupts Marcel's speech to the witches and it's a good thing because despite their missing children, they don't see Marcel as someone they can trust. Who can really blame the witches considering how many of them Marcel killed in his first rule of the quarter? Hayley appeals to the witches as a fellow mother and explains that her child is in danger. Hayley's softer approach is enough for a witch to offer of up the name of a werewolf - Laura.

It's time to head into the bayou in search of Laura, who seems to be just waiting for them arrive, standing by the river holding a knife. Laura is quick to tell Hayley that the kids are as good as dead. It seems that Laura is upset because she didn't know that the Hollow would be involving children.  The wolves turned to the Hollow in order to wrest control of the city from Marcel. It's Laura's contention that New Orleans belongs to all of the supernaturals and not just the vampires.  The wolves decision perfect sense given that Hayley abandoned the pack and spent five years trying to wake up the Original family. Laura accuses Hayley of dumping the pack in favour of being part of the Mikaelsons and she's not wrong there. Hayley means nothing to the wolves and so consequently the fate of Hope is unimportant. Laura knows that the Hollow needs sacrifices in order to grow stronger and so she promptly stabs herself in the throat with a knife.

Magical Ties (The Emily Goddard Chronicles #1) by J.M. Levinton

Emily and Christa decide that they need a distraction from Christa's dissertation and Emily's recent break up with her boyfriend and decide to cast an ancient spell for run.  They never imagine for one moment the spell will work and suddenly find themselves saddled with a demon.  If that were not enough to deal with, the summoning brings them to attention  the synedrion - the magical police. They may have stumbled into the supernatural work on a whim but learning to deal with what they have entered is going to take all of their time and may cost one of them their life.

Magical Ties just sort of stutters along at the most plodding pace.  At about the 60% mark I started thinking about chalking this up to a DNF, simply because it felt like the story was headed nowhere. This in part is because of the time that Levinton spent setting up the world.  There's only so many times you can be amazed with Emily learning that werewolves exist, or that elves exist or that vampires exist.  It would have been simpler had she been told that just about everything supernatural that you can imagine exist and then have the story move along.  Look, I get that there's going to be growing pains when a normal person suddenly learns about the existence of the supernatural but that's not a reason to dwell on it to the degree that Levinton did.

There's an element of romance in the story; however, Magical Ties is far from a paranormal romance. It's clear that she intends the relationship between Emily and Thomas to grow organically and I really like that. Everyone around them seems to be aware of their attraction even as they remain ignorant of it.  In later books, if Levinton decides to go through with the romance, I hope that she deals with the power imbalance between Thomas and Emily.  Thomas clearly is magical and extremely powerful, while Emily is a normal talent-less human. It's all further complicated by the fact Thomas is Emily's boss.

The largest redeeming element for me about this story is the relationship between Emily and Christa. Far too often in this genre, authors seem to write the story of one woman surrounded by men. In the case of Magical Ties, the female characters far outnumber the male characters.  Magical Ties also passes the Bechdel Test easily.  I love that the women come together to support each other and the relationship between Emily and Christa in particular is incredibly strong.

Horns by Joe Hill

It's been a year since Merrin Williams, the love Ignatius Perrish's life was raped and murdered.  Not only is he dealing with the loss of Merrin, everyone in the small New England town believes that he is guilty despite the fact that he wasn't charged let alone convicted.  On the anniversary of Merrin's death Ig heads to the place where his beloved died, and gets absolutely pissed. When Ig awakes the next morning he's alarmed to find horns growing out of his head.  He barely has time to deal with the fact that he has horns growing out of his head before he realises that their real curse is that they cause people he runs into to confess their deepest darkest secrets whether they want to or not.  Does anyone really want to know the secrets thoughts of the people they care for?

I picked up this book on a whim because I remembered that Daniel Radcliff starred in the movie based on the book.  I now officially believe that Radcliff owes me for the toxicity that my delicate constitution has been exposed to. Despite the fact that the protagonist wakes up with horns, Horns, is not a horror story; it's magical realism. It attempts to explore the nature of good and evil through a reinterpretation of the biblical scripture and the role of the devil.  Hill really works hard to have a discussion about the nature of evil, the degree to which we perform expectations rather than express our true desires and or feelings. Though the aforementioned applies to some to degree to all of the characters, it's particularly true of the psychopath antagonist Lee.  Lee has disdain for every person he interacts with and seeks to use them in a way that benefits him.  At the end of the day, Lee wants power in all of its forms and will to do anything to achieve it. Lee's hatred seems to fixate on women. He commonly refers to women as sluts, whores, bitches because he finds them to be disposable. He fantasizes about abusing his 15 year old neighbour, clubbing Glenna to death, that "irresponsible bitches who do drugs have to get sterilized".  Lee murders and rapes Merrin and essentially tortures his mother to death. 

Unlike other books where one could argue that that the antagonist has been written this way to convey that they are evil and need to be stopped, the misogyny doesn't begin and end with him. The entirety of Horns is littered with misogynist language and just about every character engages in it.  Even children are not spared as we learn when a little girl throws a temper tantrum in the doctor's office.

"Several of them glanced at Ig as he entered, a few in a hopeful sort of way, fantasizing, perhaps, that the little girl’s father had arrived to take her outside and deliver a brutal spanking. But as soon as they saw him, they looked away, knew in a glance that he wasn’t there to help."

Ig doesn't even stop to reflect on how wrong it is that people are fantasizing about abusing a little girl to silence her. He just accepts it as though it's normal and yet he is held up as the moral arbiter in Horns. He doesn't flinch when Lee calls women the most misogynist names. 

The only woman who is uplifted in this novel is Merrin and she is murdered and raped. Merrin knows what she wants out of life and who she wants to spend time with.  It's Merrin who initiates a relationship with Ig. Merrin doesn't last as a realised person for very long and quickly becomes this ethereal like figure to be worshiped and placed on a pedestal only to die for Lee's desire to possess her and Ig's man pain. By the end we know more about how Merrin's red hair looks like in the sun, the whiteness of her skin and the shabbiness of her wardrobe than we do of her as a person. The worst part of this all for me is that when Merrin is raped and murdered, she's actually thankful for the quick end because she has a fast moving form of breast cancer. 

Even as Merrin is set up as an angel, Glenna, the woman Ig moves in with after her death receives the exact opposite treatment.  Glenna unlike Merrin is from the wrong side of town and poor.  She works as a hairdresser and is not valued by anyone, least of all Lee and Ig.  Lee calls Glenna a fat slut repeatedly and brags about using her for sex.  For Ig, Glenna is simply someone to fill the void with and he never really considers her feelings until the end. Glenna, of course, suffers from low self esteem and so it's suggested that she allows men to treat her badly.  Neither Ig or Lee take any responsibility for how they treat Glenna. She's just a warm body who exists for their comfort and to be pitied because she's poor.  

Cursed (The Thrice Cursed Mage #1) by J.A. Cipriano

When Mac Brennan wakes up in a dumpster the only thing that he can remember about himself is his name.  It also doesn't help that he's naked as the day he was born and that his left arm is covered in a black tar like substance which seems to turn red when he is in peril.  Mac knows that there's something he needs to accomplish and that time is running out but he has no idea what that might possibly be.  Before Mac has a chance to even remotely figure any of this all out, he finds that he has angered a werewolf and that they are out for blood.

Cursed is only 184 pages long but it felt like a three hundred page book.  I only managed to finish it through a fierce determination. No way was I letting Cursed defeat me but it was a very near thing. There's absolutely no character development in Cursed, not even for the protagonist, who for some strange reason has to repeatedly remind the reader of his name. Not only does Mac repeatedly say his name, he takes the time to tell the reader that he can accomplish anything.   I suppose I should be thankful that Mac at least refrained from referring to himself in the third person, though he did sound like a ridiculous author insert.

So the long and short of it is that Mac sold his soul to a demon and in return he gained some pretty amazing powers.  Cipriano uses Mac's amnesia as a device to cover for the fact that when ever Mac is in any kind of trouble, he pulls a new power out of his ass or mumbles some mystical phrase and boom, problem solved. I could have dealt with this if it happened once or twice but it was a near constant throughout Cursed.  Having these long action scenes allowed Cipriano to avoid having to do any work with real world building or characterisation.

So, Mac knows that there's a woman and a child that he cares about who are in danger.  It would make sense if he put all of his efforts into learning about himself, his skill set, or even the people he knows he cares about who are in danger.  What does Mac do?  He decides to risk his life, take on a demon, werewolves and a fellow Cursed, all in an effort to save a woman and child that he's known for a N.Y. minute. What the ever loving hell? In fact, it's not until the last few pages of the book that he finally gets around to searching for the people he cares for.  This of course is when Cursed ends on a cliffhanger of sorts because there's no better way to finish off a book filled with cliches than with a shitty ending.

Back from the Undead (The Bloodhound Files #5) by D.D. Barant

When Stoker, an old adversary of Jace's, contacts the NSA seeking help to break up a child trafficking ring, Jace isn't sure she should leap to the bait. If there's any chance that this could be true, Jace knows she has to try.  Stopping child trafficking will see Jace cross the border where her badge doesn't hold as much power she's used to and if that were not enough, she's running out of ammunition for her gun, not that a gun will necessarily help her against the ancient God whose attention she seems to have unwittingly garnered.  Just like everything else since Jace has entered Thropirelem, everything is SNAFU.

The hook for this story is supposedly a child trafficking ring; however, D.D. Barant quickly changes the focus and the child trafficking actually becomes an almost insignificant plot point.  As a reader, it felt a little bit like a bait and switch situation for me, particularly given that the plot we were given is so very convoluted that at times it was hard to follow. Also, if you're going to bring up something as serious as child trafficking, you really need to follow through.

Thropirelem is an alternate universe in which vampires, Golems, and shifters exist in greater numbers than humans and have in fact take over the earth.  This is not a book one should read if you have not already read the preceding four books.  As it is, even with awareness of the backstory, Back from the Undead is hard to follow at times. D.D. Barant spends a lot of time on Shintoism in this book and introduces its concept of heaven and hell, as well as various deities.  I will admit upfront that other than the kitsune, I know virtually nothing about Shintoism and therefore, I am no place to judge how Barant treated the belief system.

Having a large focus of Back from the Undead be Shintoism, naturally led to the inclusion of characters of colour, including the return of Tanaka. Unfortunately, the characters of colour were all evil in some way with the exception of Tanaka. This is a problem given that this series hasn't been particularly inclusive in terms of race.  We did learn about Tanaka's back story and it turns out that he's a samurai who now feels that he owes Jace a debt because he betrayed her.  Unfortunately, paying back this debt means sacrificing himself for Jace. If you're keeping score, this means that all of the Asians are evil and the only one who isn't dies. This isn't great.

The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III

One of my Facebook friends posted about this book and at first I thought that there was no way this book could possibly be real.  I trotted off to Goodreads and Amazon and sure enough, The Haunted Vagina is a real book.  Having read so many books in this genre, I'm always looking for anything quirky that brings something new and so I simply couldn't resist the lure of The Haunted Vagina.  

I don't even know where to begin with this review.  I suppose I should start by saying that I read the majority of the book with my legs tightly crossed saying, "no, no, no". I don't know about you, but the very idea of a vagina being spread wide enough to encompass a full grown man just made me never want to spread my legs ever again.  Pause and read that sentence again. A grown ass man crawled inside a vagina.  

It all begins when Steve and his girlfriend Stacy are all cuddled up and he hears a strange sound. At first he believes they left the television on and then he wonders if something is living in the walls. Finally, Stacey admits that her vagina is haunted.  That's enough for Steve to decide that he's really not interested in sex with her anymore.  Stacey, not being down with abstinence, forces Steve into doing the 69.  As Stacey reaches orgasm, a skeleton begins to crawl out of her vagina. Stacey is freaked out for awhile but it's enough to make her decide that if Steve really cares about her, he'll crawl inside her vagina and figure out what the hell is going on in there. 

For the most part, Steve is the reluctant participant in The Haunted Vagina.  He is physically put into a position to have oral sex with Stacy after explicitly saying he's not interested.  

"Same goes with oral sex. We both like to receive it, but neither of us want to give it. Normally we can compromise on oral. If I give it to her, she will give it to me. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to go near her vagina anymore. Not with my penis, not with my tongue. 

“It’s not like you have to stick your tongue inside of me,” she says. “You can just lick my glowworm.”

"Glowworm is her pet name for a clitoris. 

“It’s on the outside,” she says.

 “But still . . .” I say.

“I’ll keep my legs closed,” she says. “You won’t even hear it.” 

I don’t reply. She turns away from me and takes off her work clothes, as if I agreed. Folding her glasses and putting them back in their case. Her movements are cold and mechanical. She must be pissed. Giving me the silent treatment like the time I washed her white fuzzy coat wrong, or the time she found pictures of my old girlfriends and I wouldn’t let her throw them out. On those occasions, she ignored me and locked herself in the bedroom. On this occasion, however, she wants to get intimate. She won’t look me in the eyes as she unbuttons my shirt and pulls off my pants. She picks me up and turns me upside-down, then plops us on the bed."

The above is written as just another bizarre incident particularly given the fact that a skeleton climbs it's way out of Stacey's vagina when she begins to orgasm but make no mistake, this scene is describing a sexual assault. Steve actually says that he's been "consumed" by Stacey since the day they met. The fact that Steve enjoys the fellatio he receives doesn't negate the fact that he said no to a sexual encounter. Steve enters her vagina twice through coercion to prove his love for her.  Once he's transformed inside the vagina to some sort of creature, it only takes a month for Stacey to have sex with someone else in an attempt to drown him in another man's semen.  Yes, it's as gross as it sounds. 

Bloody Acquisitions (Fred, the Vampire Accountant #3) by Drew Hayes

Fred's new undead life as an abandoned vampire in Winslow, Colorado has been busy and full of trials but he's settled now, having built a family out of the friends he's managed to acquire in recent years. Even Fred's business as a paranormal accountant is booming, causing him to work both and night and day to deliver on his contracts on time.  All in all, other than having more business than he can handle sometimes, Fred is pretty content.  As the saying goes however eventually every shoe must fall.  When a new vampire clan moves into town intent on filling in the power vacuum, Fred must choose between staying and fighting for the life he has built or moving to a town run by fellow paranormals.

This is the third installment in the Fred, the Vampire Accountant series. My major concern in the first two books is that they read like a collection of short stories rather than one continuous novel from start to finish.  Hayes does much better this time around though at times the he does drift into little side stories that don't have much to do with the main plot.  Because I find the idea of a vampire accountant who simply wants to do right by his clients and be with his friends so novel, when the distraction happens, it's easy to just go along for the ride, particularly because the distraction usually comes with some sort of ridiculous nonsense which is laugh out loud funny.   It is however worth noting that Blood Acquisitions does have a problem with line editing which might be an issue for some readers.

What continues to make Fred, the Vampire Accountant series so fascinating to me is Hayes treatment of gender. Normally in a vampire story, it's the vampire who fits into the role of anti hero and the vampire who is strong enough to induce fear in anyone or anything he meets.  Fred, the Vampire Accountant series puts this all out of balance because Fred, with his infamous sweater vests, is never the strongest person in any room and in fact, when the opportunity arises for him to amass more power, Fred turns it down. With the exception of a human female lawyer who Fred absolutely sees as an equal, all the women in Fred's life are significantly more powerful and knowledgeable about the paranormal world than he is. Even Fred's agent girlfriend Krystal, sees it as her job to protect Fred.

What I like the most about Fred is his loyalty to his friends and his clients.  When the Turva sets up residence in Winslow, Fred quickly finds that he's running out of options.  He heads to see a dragon to ask about other vampires and when offered a sample to increase his power or the opportunity to have all of his problems simply whisked away, Fred refuses. It would be so easy for Fred to have all of his enemies killed, thus assuring him that no other group of vampires would try to set up stakes in Winslow for at least a hundred years but Fred instead considers the innocent vampires who would lose their lives. Even when he's about to forced into making an alliance with Turva, essentially making him subordinate to their leadership, Fred refuses to lean on his much stronger friends because he sees that as taking advantage.  He's determined to stand on his own two feet come what may.

Venom and Vanilla (The Venom Trilogy) by Shannon Mayer

Though having grown in an extremely religious family, Alena has managed to break away and make a life of her own. While not part of the religious group anymore, Alena still tries to live by some of its tenets. Though she still misses her brother desperately, with her husband by her side and a successful business, things are looking pretty good. Unfortunately, Alena should have listened to her mother's warning about being more humble. When Alena catches a disease associated with the supernatural that kills rapidly, she has to make choice between keeping her soul or becoming evil like the supernaturals she was raised to hate.

Venom and Vanilla is only 240 pages long and it's quite the wild ride.  At no point did the story feel rushed though it was filled with action. If anything, the times it did slow down were the times it felt disconnected. I really didn't need Alena's recitation of her baking recipes or the interlude making baklava.  It's set in a world in which the supernatural in North America are being forced to live beyond the 49 parallel behind walls.  As a Canadian, this had me rolling my eyes just a bit.  I had to admit that given that so much of Mayer's story is set in what would have been Canada, that I was a little bit disappointed not to get a sense of my home.  That being said, I suppose she gave Canada the interesting side of the border.

I started out really feeling for Alena.  Alena is hospitalized and dying, only to be told by her husband just how quickly he plans on moving on with his new girlfriend and what he plans to do with her money. Her husband doesn't even plan to wait until she's dead. Even Alena's struggle to decide whether or not she should allow herself to die or become supernatural really touched me.  At this point she felt real to me. If only Mayer had kept this tone throughout the book. By the time the action starts, Alena's refusal to swear, her ridiculous sayings, as well as her constant second guessing of herself based on her religious upbringing got on my last nerves.  Her constant insistence that she is still married though the government has declared her dead irked me.  It's rare to have a protagonist move from warm and easy to relate to, to downright irritating. It's a vicious pendulum swing.

Fortunately, the world in Venom and Vanilla makes up for Alena's shortcomings.  Mayer's world includes, all manner of supernatural creatures as well as the Greek Pantheon.  Yes, the mythology geek in me had a pretty big squee when all of a sudden I found myself reading about Zeus's marital problems with Hera. I very much appreciate Mayer painting Zeus as the douchebag that he is because in recent incarnations, the modern interpretation of Zeus has been far kinder than he deserves.  I love the idea that heroes and monsters are intrinsically linked and the idea that maybe monsters aren't who we believe them to be. I will however say that though the ending of Alena's battle with Achilles was extremely predictable, I at least enjoyed the battle.

The Vow by Laura Daleo

Claire Matthews has returned home from college to spend the summer with her family.  It's supposed to be a great time in her life but when she lands at the airport, her usually punctual parents aren't there. Claire takes a cab to her childhood home only to find police swarming all over the place. Though Claire prays desperately that her parents and her little brother are fine, it doesn't look good. When Claire learns that her brother is missing and that her parents are indeed dead from an apparent vampire attack, despite the vow which hundreds of years ago ended vampires hunting humans, Claire is determined to find her parents killer and her missing brother.  The investigation will see her team up with a vampire as she negotiates the vampire world for the first time.

I had my doubts about The Vow from the first page.  To be clear, dead parents are absolutely a trope in this genre and in this case, both of Claire's parents are found murdered at the beginning of the book, making it far from an auspicious start. It also didn't help that Claire was absolutely alone in the world. How is it that she grew up in that home and didn't have a single friend to turn to? Did they all just disappear when she left for college? I understand that the purpose is to further isolate Claire but it really doesn't feel believable to me. However, Daleo did a good job portraying Claire's pain viewing her parents bodies and her fear that her brother might also be dead.

Where Daleo loses me is Claire's hunt for her parents killers.  Claire actually accuses the first vampire she sees with nothing to base her accusation on.  She casually decides that said vampire is shifty because he won't submit to interrogation by her and leaves at the first opportunity. Daleo then doubles down by having Claire volunteer at a vampire center (read: feeding area) and then interrogate random vampires coming in for nourishment.  She ends up agreeing to meet with not one but two vampires and of course it ends badly.  If that is not enough, a vampire priest sends her on a wild goose chase which turns out to be a trap and then Claire follows up on this faulty lead by disturbing a vampire in its lair during day sleep.  I quickly found myself wondering how it is that Claire is still alive. Sure, her vampire boyfriend and the police are there to pull her ass out of the fire but at some point she should have learned that simply walking off to meet vampires in isolated locations is not a good idea. Daleo attempts to explain Claire's repeated stupidity by employing Claire's grief over her parents death and fear for her missing brother as justification.  In the end, Claire simply comes across as a bimbo, making me wonder how she got into college in the first place?

Despite all of the focus on Claire's vampire hunt and her family legacy of vampire hunting, I don't feel like I really know who she is. It doesn't help that we are continually reminded just how beautiful Claire is and that her blonde hair and blue eyes practically make her vampire catnip.  It makes me wonder if this is intentional, so that the reader can place themselves in Claire's position? The problem however is then magnified because Daleo employs this tactic with all of the other characters in the book.  Neither Daniels (the investigating cop) or Conner (the vampire boyfriend) feel at all real to me either. I'm going to chalk this up to the very limited character development in this story.

The Demon Mistress (Eva Prim #1) by Jordan K. Rose

Chrysanthemum is a hot mess.  No matter what she touches, disaster seems to ensue. Yes, she always means well but that doesn't change the outcome.  When her Master/Husband gives her the gift of a computer, Chrysanthemum decides to take the opportunity to find new friends.  What better way to attract people than to create a blog and go viral? Just like everything else Chrysanthemum touches however a disaster quickly ensues.  Before she can even begin to contemplate the repercussions, she's accused of kidnapping a mate, involved in giving the world vampire secrets and has a bounty on her head.

It really is a miracle that I made it all the way through this book.  At about the 10% mark I was actively struggling to decide whether or not to DNF.  The protagonist is clueless and absolutely beyond annoying.  Chrysanthemum was born in 1812 which made her 204 at the time that A Demon Mistress was published and she read as less sensible than a ten year old.  I could have tolerated it had this book been made for a YA audience but A Demon Mistress is clearly aimed at adults.  We all know someone who isn't that bright but Rose takes it to extremes with Chrysanthemum. 

One of the things that really irritated me about The Demon Mistress, is its desperate attempt to be funny.  It's actually anything but.  Someone needs to tell Rose that comedy is not her strong suit. Simply creating a ridiculous situation for your protagonist to be in doesn't make the book funny. When this is added to how implausible the whole thing is, it makes it that much more ridiculous. For example, Chrysanthemum stops at a burger joint to pick up some dinner for herself and the two demons she has acquired and the guy working the check out window just happens to be Margaritaman - an active commenter on her blog.  Does Rose have any idea of the vastness of the internet and the likelihood of that happening?  Also, someone working the checkout window does not leave said business to deliver food to a car; this is not 1950. Of course, Margaritaman is high on dope which consequently makes Chrysanthemum high when she feeds on him.  It's nonsense. 

Throughout the book, Chrysanthemum gains new powers that she cannot explain.  They just appear conveniently when she needs them.  Nothing like pulling power out of your ass.  It makes absolutely no sense and Rose doesn't even bother to vaguely try to justify this ridiculous writers tactic.  It's clear that it's about Rose writing herself out of corner due to ineptitude. Everything must work out and so the only way to do that is to create a power for Chrysanthemum.

Exodus (Imp #8) by Debra Dunbar

The elves are once again up to no good.  Now that they've managed to secure the blessings of Angels who simply want to be rid of the work of improving humans and hunker down in Aaru.  The elves plan to leave Hel behind and become the new rulers of earth.  Sam knows that she has to put a stop to this but what can one Angel of Chaos do?  Sam turns to her angelic boyfriend only to find that things in Aaru have gotten so out of control that he doesn't really have the time to help.  With a baby dragon living in her backyard and Wyatt refusing to house her newly acquired guests things are about to get complicated for our favourite imp once more.

I am going to say upfront that I unabashedly love this series.  I read it in one day and simply could not put it down.  I kept saying just one more chapter, then one more page, then one more paragraph until I found myself at the end.  Exodus is filled with action and laugh out loud moments.  With lines like, "Nobody destroys a tray of bacon and gets mercy, Nobody." It's impossible to read and not giggle. For the record I tend to agree with Sam on her assessment of the importance of bacon.

Sam has grown so much as a character since we first met her in A Demon Bound. Yes, she's still scrappy, with a good head on her shoulders and loves a good fight but she also has grown to care for the people who have become members of her household. Sure, for the large part these beings have been fostered on her throughout the series and they started out as an imposition but now she's not willing to risk their safety.  Even the lowly demons in her household have come to mean something to her.  At times I do miss some of the antics that she got up to but this new mature Sam is still full of great one liners which tend to fill some of the void.  I even like the way that she considers how her relationship with Wyatt has evolved.  When Wyatt refuses to help her house the elves, she doesn't push him and instead considers the fact that though they are no longer lovers, she wants to retain their friendship. Yes, our favourite little demon is all grown up.

Unfortunately we didn't get to see a lot of Sam and Gregory having intimate moments in this novel. I miss the way he used to call her cockroach.  There always seems to be so much going on this series that these two never get any downtime.  I will however say that I'm annoyed that Gregory seems to have no problem simply dropping things in Sam's lap without consideration of how he is changing her life and thus making it more difficult. For an angel, he's not a very considerate lover at all.  This is why I love when Gregory inadvertently promises a farmer to put in a word with the good man upstairs, that Sam doesn't let him foist that responsibility upon her. Other than drinking coffee and caring for Sam, Gregory hasn't really evolved much and I think it's time he begin to change as well.

Nightshades by Melissa F. Olson

Things are not going well for the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations in Chicago.  Not only are young people being kidnapped by a Shade (read: Vampire), several agents have lost their lives trying to fight them.  The government has only been studying vampires for two years and so far they really aren't equipped to deal with them. Alex McKenna takes the job no one wants and becomes Special Agent in charge of the Chicago bureau. Now that he has the job, he has to figure out a new strategy for dealing with the Shades and this might just involve finding himself someone on the inside.

Nightshades is clearly a novella and meant to start off a new series.  I've never been a fan of beginning a series that way because I don't feel that novellas offer enough room for character or world building.  I'm sorry to say that Nightshades didn't buck the trend on this, though it was a fairly good attempt.

Nightshades is as much a police procedural as it is a a vampire story.  In the last ten years, vampire stories have been so widely produced and distributed, I for one have given up on the idea of anything new being added to this particular supernatural lore.  Olson does include a few differences from traditional vampire lore in that her vampires can go into the sun and are said to by symbiotic with humans because their saliva can heal.  Vampires do need human blood to survive but the feeding of a vampire benefits a human because it boosts the immune system. Granted, it's not the first time we've seen vampires heal but for me at least, it's the first time it was described as symbiotic and explained that the reason we are having so many problems with diseases is because the vampire population is too low to counteract it.

One of the things I like about Alex is that he fought for his new position to prove himself.  I like that Olson had him trying to escape his mother's legacy as the first head of the FBI.  That's a bit of a gender bender there.  None of this however stops Alex from pulling rank and hiding vital information from his team.  Alex reminded me of Picard and Kirk in the sense that he damn well should have stayed with the ship but then came up with a B.S. excuse to put himself in the line of danger. Like any good captain, it looks like he's going to get the girl at the end of the day.

Lindy is a 1000 year old vampire and she actually reads like one in many respects.  Lindy speaks multiple languages and constantly has to work to make sure that she keeps up with things like human slang.  She studies her coworkers to learn about how to be more human.  When she learns that her coworker has a cat for instance, Lindy adopts one.  She even goes as far as to stain tupperware and leave it in the office to give the impression that she consumes food. Lindy is both smart and capable.