Tuesday Review Day!

Blood Lite II: Overbite (Otherworld Stories [Lucifer's Daughter])

Written by: Kelley Armstrong, L.A. Banks, Lucien Soulban and more

Edited by: Kevin J. Anderson

Short Stories

Publication date: September 28, 2010 by Gallery Books (first published 9/11/10)

Released in Paperback

439 pages
Given to my by my special someone :)

3 stars

Synopsis: From the Horror Writers Association comes a brand-new collection of darkly humorous tales!

The Big Questions of Life (and Death) 

Can a killer’s basement blood-feast be a tax write-off (under Entertainment)? Not if Vlad the IRS agent nails him first in Heather Graham’s "Death and Taxes." 

What does a pack of hungry she-wolves do to solve their man troubles? Ladies Night Out takes a wicked turn in "Dog Tired (of the Drama!)" by L. A. Banks. 

How far will an elite call girl go to beat a murder rap? Stuck with a dead client in a luxury L.A. hotel room, she might strike a costly bargain with a woman of unearthly powers in Allison Brennan’s "Her Lucky Day." 

Who actually writes those tabloid stories about Bigfoot? Meet a journalist of the unexplained (she’s 50 percent demon) and her boyfriend (he’s 100 percent thief), as they heat up a museum exhibition that’s also a soul-snatching battleground in "Lucifer’s Daughter" by Kelley Armstrong. 

Plus tales from:

KEVIN J. ANDERSON & JANIS IAN • SAM W. ANDERSON • MIKE BARON

EDWARD BRYANT • AMY STERLING CASIL • DEREK CLENDENING • DON D’AMMASSA • BRIAN J. HATCHER • NINA KIRIKI HOFFMAN • NANCY KILPATRICK • J. A. KONRATH • JOHN R. LITTLE • SHARYN MCCRUMB

SCOTT NICHOLSON • MARK ONSPAUGH • AARON POLSON • DANIEL PYLE

MIKE RESNICK & LEZLI ROBYN • JEFF RYAN • D. L. SNELL • LUCIEN SOULBAN

ERIC JAMES STONE • JEFF STRAND • JORDAN SUMMERS

JOEL A. SUTHERLAND • STEVE RASNIC TEM • CHRISTOPHER WELCH

My Review: Some of these were true horror stories told in such an imaginative way that it isn't scary at all, they're more realistic, as if you could really have a neighbor that keeps spare body parts in his basement. Others are so creative, have such disturbing creatures that I couldn't even fabricate them in my head! Almost all of the stories leave your mouth on the floor at the end with suspenseful cliffhangers, you just can't believe they left you hanging like that!

There were characters that you could like instantly...the way they think or their sense of humor. My favorite was a call girl named Vi. She caught the bad end of a deal, poor girl. And she had her life all figured out, too. But it was her attitude that I liked - not that I have much in common with a call girl! Another likable character was Filimeala O'Grady (American Banshee), a kick-ass bean sidhe that can use her scream to get what she wants. *wicked smile* I like her.

There was a story titled "Eight Legged Vengeance" that I absolutely could not read for the fear that it was about spiders. *shivers*

I enjoy short story books like this because it's fun switching characters every 15 pages or so. One right after another, a different place, a different time, a different narrator, tone and feel. It keeps me on edge and I never get bored. And if I do, I just skip that story and move on to the next. It's as easy as that! That's the true beauty of short stories, you feel like you've just completed a reading marathon but you get to skip the parts you don't like! It might be cheating, a little - still 26 out of 30 stories is pretty good.

Overall: This book and it's prequel Blood Lite (The Dresden Files #10.1) [my review here] are very entertaining and extremely creative. I don't think there was one story between the both of them that gave me the feeling that I've read something like this before. Thumbs up for originality!

Home Sweet Home!

Hello again!!! I have missed you guys very much. My plane landed over a week ago but my blog is my home, too! But do you ever feel like blogging, yet at the same time, you really don't feel like it? Well, that was how I was feeling after my trip to Disney (which I will share a few pics soon). While I took a break from the blogging, I did start some reading. If you've been keeping track, it is taking me a while to finish The Misfit of Supernatural High, but I can assure you it is not due to any fault with the book. I like what I've read and there's still so much more to come, I can't wait to see the end!

Speaking of the end, do you ever peek at the last page of a new book just to see the last few words? Maybe to get a feel for either a happy ending or a sad one? You don't read enough to give away what happens but enough to satisfy your curiosity - or tease it! I think I do that with every new book (when I say new, I mean not a sequel to anything, a new story) and I think I do it sometimes without even realizing. Almost out of habit. I don't know why. I guess the way I see it is - hey, by the time I  read the whole book and get to the end, I'll have forgotten what I peeked at and it won't matter. So, if you would indulge my curiosity, take the poll in the top left corner to let me know if any of you do the same or if I'm the only one! Thanks!

I also picked up two great books during a recent trip to Borders, allow me to share:

Two completely different covers! One dark, one light. The "girl next door" and the "girl from up the street"!! The look in both of their eyes are full of secrets. I love it!

I also have three more books on the way, courtesy of my loving special someone:

The last one, a little strange, I know. Not what is usually on the TBR pile, however, it was inspired by the movie Creation, a story about Charles Darwin as he mourns over the death of his daughter while struggling with his beliefs and those of his wife, if he should even write the book that changed the world. It was terribly sad and completely captivating.

And for a quirky ending; I'm thinking about naming my Nook. I feel like the two of us a getting closer and I think it should have a name. Initially, I thought I would give it a girls name, but I'm open to it being a boy :) Suggestions?

Blood Lite Review

BLOOD LITE
Written by: Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kelley Armstrong...and many more stand-out horror stars!
Publication date: September 29, 2009
Released in Paperback

4 stars

Synopsis: Blood Lite...a collection of entertaining tales that put the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit temper the jagged edge.

Charlaine Harris reveals the dark side of going green, when a quartet of die-hard environmentalists host a fund-raiser with a gory twist in "An Evening with Al Gore"...In an all-new Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher, when it comes to tracking deadly paranormal doings, there's no such thing as a "Day Off" for the Chicago P.D.'s wizard detective, Harry Dresden...Sherrilyn Kenyon turns a cubicle-dwelling MBA with no life into a demon-fighting seraph with one hell of an afterlife in "Where Angels Fear to Tread"...Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out seance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick in Kelley Armstrong's "The Ungrateful Dead."

How I Came to Read This: I think I saw this in the store, and when I recognized some of the authors, I decided to give it a try.

My Review: This book was so funny! I actually read this sometime last year. There were so many stories that had me laughing out loud. If there's one story, one reason why you must read this book, it's Mr. Bear by Joe R. Lansdale. This one story had me in tears, laughing at it's wit, and dry sense of humor!

I love short story compilations like this because if there's a story you're not enjoying or you just can't get in to, you could always skip it. It's not like a one-story book where you'd have to just give up on the whole thing. But fortunately for us, there aren't any stories in Blood Lite that you'd want to skip over - they're all great!

Who Should Read This: You get a variety of unique paranormal stories by your favorite authors. If this is your genre, this is your book.

Immortal Review

IMMORTAL:LOVE STORIES WITH BITE

Short Stories Written by: Cynthia Leitich Smith, Kristin Cast, Rachel Caine,Tanith Lee, Richelle Mead, Nancy Holder, Rachel Vincent and Claudia Gray

Edited by:  P.C. Cast

Publication date: October 6, 2009 (first published August 1, 2008)

4 stars

Synopsis: find full synopsis at here at Goodreads.com

How I Came to Read This:  When I picked it up in the store, I saw that most of the contributing authors were some of my faves!

My Review:  Haunted Love by Cynthia Leitich Smith - This story was good - and it turned out to be pretty sweet.  It was like a whole novel in 30 pages; it had all the components.  You had your main character, new friendship/possible love interest, action and happy ending. What else do you need?

Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast - This one surprised me. It was something completely different. I quickly fell in love with the characters and when it finally sunk in that there wasn't going to be anymore, I was sad.  Spin-off??

Dead Man Stalking: A Morganville Vampires Story by Rachel Caine - If you're already reading the Morganville Vampires series, then you know who Shane is ad his relationship with his father. If you're not up on it, don't worry, this is still a story you can enjoy. It's about the last two surviving members of the same family - father and son - on opposite sides of a war.  Having to choose between the family you were given and the family you've made.

Table Manners by Tanith Lee - I didn't exactly enjoy this story.  It was a little difficult to want to continue.  For too long in the beginning, it was too vague.  The suspense was held for so long, it frustrated me.  I think it had potential, it was just a little too sloppy - and I really do hate to use that word; I'm sorry. I liked the ending though!

Blue Moon by Richelle Mead - Ladies and gentlemen, she does it again! Richelle Mead, in my book, is flawless. Even in a short story she can create a world that sucks you right in. I would have loved a whole book on these characters. I love everything Mead does - she can't miss!

Changed by Nancy Holder - This story had a great concept. A post-apocalyptic, overrun by vampires world.  It had a great main character that you wanted good things to happen to. I'm happy to have read this story. Maybe I'll even look for other stories by Nancy Holder.

Binge by Rachel Vincent - This is what I like about Rachel Vincent: she doesn't do it like anybody else.  She doesn't write about vampires or werewolves or even fairies. She focuses on beings we never read about, that we know nothing about. That was, when you're reading, there's no way you can stop. No way you can predict what's going to happen.

Free: A Story of Evernight by Claudia Gray - I absolutely love Evernight! This story had a pretty rough start for me. But shortly thereafter, it really took off and there was no longer any doubt i y mind that this was going to be good. You think it's going one way but the Gray switches it up on you! Strong ending.

Who Should Read This: If you're already familiar with these authors, it's a fun way to get a little more from them. However, I wouldn't use this book as a way to get into these authors. I don't think an author can really shine, really show her all, in a short story.

Kiss, Kiss, Kiss

LIPS TOUCH THREE TIMES
Written by Laini Taylor
Publication date: August 1, 2009
Released in Hardcover

4 stars

Synopsis: Back Cover: There is a certain kind of girl the goblins crave. You could walk across a high school campus and point then out: not her, not her, her. The pert, lovely ones with butterfly tattoos in secret places, sitting on their boyfriends' laps? No, not them. The girls watching the lovely ones sitting on their boyfriends' laps? Yes. Them.

The goblins wants girls who dream so hard about being pretty their yearning leaves a palpable trail, a scent goblins can follow like sharks on a soft bloom of blood. The girls with hungry eyes who pray each night to wake up as someone else. Urgent, unkissed, wishful girls.

Like Kizzy.

Inside Jacket: Everyone dreams of getting the kiss of a lifetime - but what if that kiss carried some unexpected consequences?

A girl who's always been in the shadows finds herself pursued by the unbelievably attractive new boy at school, who may or may not be the death of her. Another girl grows up mute because of a curse placed on her by a vindictive spirit, and later must decide whether to utter her first words to the boy she loves and risk killing everyone who hears her if the curse is real. And a third girl discovers that the real reason for her transient life with her mother has to do with belonging - literally belonging - to another world entirely, full of dreaded creatures who can transform into animals, and whose queen keeps little girls as personal pets until they grow to childbearing age.

My Review: Goblin Fruit: I liked how Kizzy was the outcast yet she still had her small crew of friends. She knows her family is different. She tells her friends about the weird things that happen in her home, knowing very well that no one could possibly believe her. Her friends are just as kooky and strange, but only in theory, not in real life, like Kizzy.

In just the few short chapters in this story, you can grasp that Kizzy is just like a real high school girl. She wants the popularity and the cute guys that come with it, and the kisses that come with them.

Kizzy grew up knowing that mythological creatures, such as goblins, were real. She knows how they come for young girls and that they eventually do. She's always on her guard, remembering the lessons she was taught. But when the hot new boy in school pays attention only to her, she can't help falling for him. As you read the story, you want her to have her Prince Charming, her happily ever after, yet you can't help but think that something just isn't right.

Spicy Little Curses: This story had one of the most original plots I've read in a long time. A woman charged with the responsibility of negotiating with a demon, to protect the world's children from being dragged to Hell before their time. Her name is Estella and she's a take-no-crap kinda lady! She's not afraid of this demon, Vasudev, as she's been dealing with him for a very long time. Besides, bartering for the lives of innocent children is not a light subject. Vasudev will take anyone to back to Hell with him, but Estella is there to keep the balance.

However, in the midst of negotiations, Vasudev trades the lives of ten children if Estella will deliver his curse upon an infant. The child is never to utter a word or kill everyone around her with the sound. This was the one story that convinced me I wanted to read this book. The child grows up without ever speaking but struggling everyday with the authenticity of this curse. When she falls in love with a soldier she finds she must put this curse to the test!

Hatchling: This was the longest of the three stories with the most intricate plot. It's about a mother and daughter who have spent the last fifteen years practicing long forgotten beliefs in order to protect themselves from dangers they never even see. The mother, Mab, knows them to be true, though. She knew one day they would come for her and her daughter, Esme. When Esme's left eye suddenly changes color, everything in her life turns upside down.

I really liked Mab in this story. As a mother myself, I found her character easy to relate to. She is extremely protective of her daughter and loves her fiercely. The dangers she survived to give Esme the simple life she has now, almost cost her her own life. She has been fighting ever since.

Esme is stronger than she thinks. When she starts "remembering" memories that aren't hers, she's brave enough to find out the truth, even though it scares her half out of her mind!

Laini Taylor writes in each story, beautiful descriptions, in such depth that your own surroundings blur and all you can see is what you're reading. I love an author who can do that! There are twists and turns at the end of each story that just blow your mind. These are not ideas that have been done before, so you have no idea where Taylor is leading you! My eyes will be open for anything else she's written!

Who Should Read This: Looking for something paranormal yet different than all the vampires, werewolves, fairies and ghosts? This was a nice break from all of that.