With Shadow Heir, Richelle Mead’s Dark Swan series comes to an end.

Was it a fitting end? After due consideration, I’d have to say not so much. Vampire Academy’s ending was brilliant whilst at the same time leaving enough openings for Bloodlines. The ending to the Georgina Kincaid series was very sweet and satisfying and fully deserved. But Shadow Heir ended the series at the wrong point and it felt as though the last twenty percent or so was tacked on.

I can understand and see why it was done because it did resolve the prophecy, I just feel as though it could have been woven into the story in a better way. For those that have read Shadow Heir, I’m not on about the situation with Ivy and Isaac because I understand the reasoning behind that decision. It’s laid out and explained succinctly enough. I’m actually referring to Pagiel. Whilst I’m all for unexpected twists and revelations to keep a reader on their toes but not at this late stage. In hindsight though, there were hints spaced throughout the book.

And Maiwenn? Ugh! Given how she started out as one of the good guys in Storm Born. Grr…

And on the subject of resolutions, it was an unexpected surprise to hear Volusian’s story. He has been one of the highlights of this series and his presence in Shadow Heir is no exception. Another familiar face making a funny return is Eugenie’s old house mate, Tim. Unfortunately, Lara, her PA was only mentioned in passing which is a shame.

Fans of Dorian won’t be disappointed given he was in fine form. Two other favourites of mine; Rurik and Shaya are present and all I can say about those two is ‘Yes!’ And it was nice to see Jasmine continue to grow.

Overall, Shadow Heir did its job and wrapped up the series but compared to how strong the series started and as I’ve done, compared it to Richelle Mead’s other endings to her other series, it’s not as strong. That negativity aside, I enjoyed the story and last night’s surge to get to the end to see how everything was resolved kept me up later than I’d intended. Always a sign of a good book!

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Belong to the night is an anthology containing stories by Shelly Laurenston, Cynthia Eden and Sherrill Quinn.

The first story and the reason that I bought the book is The Wolf, The Witch and Her Lack of Wardrobe, the second in the Long Island Coven series. The first can be found in the Sun, Sand, Sex anthology that I reviewed last month.

Time has passed and it is now six months further on and Jamie’s coven has settled quite nicely in town and in addition to running the hotel has enmeshed themselves into local community. All except for Jamie herself. Jamie isn’t interested in settling but wants to pursue power even to the extent of trying to become a champion to a Celtic goddess.

Tully Smith on the other hand, mayor of the town is absolutely settled and is perfectly happy with where he is and where he is going. So much so that he walks everywhere and to Jamie’s consternation, doesn’t even own a TV.

And as mayor, he is asked to keep a close eye on Jamie given that she’s already poisoned the lake (which she cleaned up) and set fire to the woods (which she put out). Not such a hardship given that he’s already doing something of the sort anyway.

But not everything’s so easy. You don’t annoy a sex god without consequences and this is combined with the fact that trouble arrives in town in the unwelcome form of Buck Smith and his sons.

This is so much better than My Kind of Town was primarily I think because all the major players are known and this allows for pure story without the need for introductions. The dynamic between the coven members is explored more fully and the interaction between Jamie and her cousin Mac is hilarious, especially the scene where there are serving a meal at the hotel.

Jamie and Tully are both excellent characters being perfect counterpoints to each other but then, apart from the bad people that we’re not supposed to like, all the characters are likeable.

All in all, a typical high standard release from Shelly Laurenston containing everything that’s expected; witty dialogue, action pieces and of course, some hot loving.

Finally, whilst there do seem to be hints of another relationship that could blossom, this is currently the last book in The Long Island Coven and I don’t know if more a forthcoming.

The second story is In the Dark by Cynthia Eden. The last Cynthia Eden story I read was Wicked Ways in the When He was Bad anthology and again, this is a much better story.

The premise a simple one in that Sadie is on the trail of a killer when she spots her former partner and lover, Liam, cosying up to a redhead in a bar. Which is surprising considering she attended his funeral after he and his team were killed when attempting to take down a vampire.

And that happened before she could tell him of her own secret that she is a leopard shifter who has been raised to kill vampires with prejudice. So when she confronts Liam at the bar and finds out that he didn’t die but was turned into a shifter’s prey, things are a bit awkward.

Whereas Wicked Ways had a full human as the heroine and had to be introduced into the world of Others where shifters, vampires and demons exist, both Sadie and Liam belong to that world so there was no hand holding the reader and explaining the world.

Given what Sadie was raised to believe I did like how she overcame her beliefs and let her heart win out with Liam although it wasn’t an easy process. Liam however, first came across as an arrogant ass especially when he took her blood without asking after she attempted to drive a stake through his heart. However, the relationship quickly turns more positive during the hunt for a killer who is another shifter.

The ending is very bittersweet and the HEA for Sadie and Liam shows how much her feelings have changed given the sacrifice she made.

The final story is City of the Dead by Sherrill Quinn and refers to a cemetery in St. Louis. Dori is back in town searching for her brother, Art and tries to enlist the help of Jack, a detective. Unfortunately, the last time she was in town six months ago, things got to a certain point between them before she left without saying goodbye to him.

Dori’s issue with pursing a relationship with a man she desperately wants is that whilst she’s a witch, he’s a normal human and she’s afraid that he’ll reject her when he finds out her heritage.

This is the shortest story of the three but without a doubt the hottest. The relationship is very much the primary focus her with Dori’s search for her brother just the glue that ties the sequences together. The only thing I found annoying was the use of the Cajun dialect but I get overdosed with that when I read an Anita Blake novel. But given that they are both set in the same city, it is to be expected, I suppose.

The sex scenes are scorching, much hotter than Cynthia Eden’s and dare I say it, better than some of Shelly Laurenston’s.

Whilst I bought this purely for Shelly Laurenston’s story, Belong to the Night is a very good anthology containing three quality stories.

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This is the second comic book conversion of a Richelle Mead book that I’ve read and what I said in my review for Vampire Academy can be applied here.

The characters aren’t quite how I imagined them but then, are they ever? However, there was no problem in following the story and given the length of time since I’d read Dark Swan, I had no issues with remembering the story.

What was interesting to see is how the adult scenes such as Eugenie’s encounter with Kiyo in the hotel and Dorian’s court were handled. These were fine for the most part except for the fight with an ice elemental which resulted in some very odd poses for Eugenie in order that she could fight whilst naked whilst at the same time covering up so nothing was flashed. Ditto for Kiyo. I have no idea whether this was something that the artist just did or whether they had to due to other constraints.

Still comparing to the Vampire Academy graphic novel, the biggest different is whilst that was the entire book as a graphic novel; this volume is a collection of previously released comics and doesn’t tell the whole story so I’m expecting a further volume at some point.

The other difference is in the binding. This volume has been released as a hard cover and its pages are thinner than paper thin. My preference would have been for Vampire Academy’s paperback binding and quality of paper. Given that both cost approximately the same, it’s easy to see which gives better value for money.

So whilst the story and art work including a few pages of artist’s extras but with the exception of the previously mentioned dubious character poses are excellent, the actual packaging lets it down somewhat. Not that that will put me off purchasing the next volume.

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Because Sizzling Sixteen is a personal mission for Stephanie Plum, it is one of the more interesting books. This time, in addition to some of the wackiest FTAs she needs to capture in order to catch up on her rent, she now needs to find her missing cousin and boss; Vinnie.

Although being an expert in character assignation which is what makes him a good bail bondsman, according to Stephanie and those that know him, that’s his only good point. One of his unsavoury points is that he likes to gamble and now that his debt stands at $800,000 has been snatched. Unless his debt can be repaid by Stephanie, Lula and Connie, he dies. And if Vinnie is killed, that means no more bail bond office and no more job for any of them.

In typical fashion, there is one way of proceeding with an investigation which will probably yield results but in boring fashion and there Stephanie’s way which, to date, yields results more by luck than skill but there is so much fun to be had on the way.

This is even stated by the professionals (read: Ranger) with how she deals with a guard-alligator.

As is typical with this series, no prior knowledge of what’s happened in previous books is needed. In fact, series is the wrong word to use. Perhaps collection would be better. Newcomers could dive right in but would only miss the rich character history that has been built up to date.

Readers can expect the usual, or rather, unusual take downs, funeral parlour visits with Grandma Mazur, car hi-jinks, Cluck-in-a-bucket and a little romance.

As at time of writing, the film of One for the Money starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum is out at the end of the month and I can’t wait to see how it’s been translated to the big screen.

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If I could sum up this book, the last in The Hunger Games trilogy in one word; that word would be ‘brutal’.

Unrelenting, would be another. As would outstanding.

The story begins shortly after the shocking ending of the previous book and finds Katniss and Prim, their other and Gale as well as others in the supposedly destroyed District 13, the district that was apparently made an example of by the capital of Panem. However, it turns out that yet again, what Capitol says has no bearing upon the actual facts.

Because of her actions in the first Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell (the name for the games that take place every twenty five years, this being set in the 75th anniversary), Katniss Everdeen is given a task by the leadership of District 13 and become the Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion and unite the twelve districts in an uprising against President Snow and end his tyranny.

And that’s really all I can say about the story without giving anything away. As has come to be expected with the tone set by the first two books, Mockingjay is not an easy ride either for Katniss and company or for me as a reader.

Whilst there are lighter moments spaced throughout the book, given what has come before, it’s not long before the action starts again we’re taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride. And the ride doesn’t exactly come to a gentle stop either. In my review of The Hunger Games, I remarked on how one particular death was heartrending but there is such a tragic loss in Mockingjay that I was so hoping that it was not to be, that there would be a miracle rescue.

Is there a victory or happy ever after for Katniss? That’s entirely debatable, I think. Mockingjay, like the first two, is an amazing book and kept me reading wishing that I had an even longer commute. This and the entire trilogy are one of the best things that I’ve read. It is thought-provoking and its impact will be with me for a very long time.

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I’ve mentioned before about being wary of authors whose works I’ve not read and technically, Sydney Croft is a new author to me. However, given that Sydney Croft is the pseudonym for the writing duo of Larissa Ione whose Demonica and Lords of Deliverance series which I adore and Stephanie Tyler, I thought I’d give this first book in the ACRO series a try.

And I’m so glad I did! I’ve seen this series compared to X-men with erotica and whilst I can see why, I think that’s an overly simplistic description.

Former Navy SEAL Remy Begnaud returns home to the Louisiana bayou after resigning his commission and has a problem with the weather, specifically storms. Don’t we all, though? Remy’s issue that his libido increases to dangerous levels depending upon the severity of the storm. Not only does the weather control him but he can also control the weather.

This has come to the attention of the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives (ACRO) who recruit people with special abilities like Remy and train them to use their powers for the force of good. As such, they have despatched Haley Holmes a parameteorologist to recruit Remy by any means necessary, including seducing him before ACRO’s competition, Itor get him for their own nefarious ends. Like dropping F5 tornadoes on cities.

Haley’s already and Remy’s home when he arrives in the middle of a particularly bad storm and as such gets to witness firsthand what effect the weather has on his sex drive. And as seduction is within her remit, it’s not long before they are throwing themselves at each other.

And that’s the start of one of the hottest, steamiest erotic books that I’ve read. Not only that, there is a decent story in the race to who will recruit Remy first and a sub-plot despite all the sex of which there is a considerable amount not only between Remy and Haley but also Annika and Creed a pair of ‘rares’ (she can channel electricity and he is immune to her power but is accompanied by a jealous female spirit) and the head of ACRO and his PA.

Both main characters are given suitable back stories so that it can be seen why each behave the way they do and there is a nice reveal at the end which explains why Remy and Haley are so right for each other.

So, whilst the ‘rares’ like Remy could be compared to the X-men’s mutants, Remy is certainly not Storm, Dev is not Professor X and ACRO is definitely not a school for the gifted.

A very hot and very nice start to a new series that I shall definitely be continuing with.

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The year started off pretty well. As far as I can remember there was still a lot of snow on the ground or it was just thawing. Either way, unlike now, it was cold and bitter. The way winters ought to be. Certainly not balmy and relatively warm.

With the money that I’d received as gifts I decided to pick up a collector’s edition of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and renewed my subscription. Oh, I’d being playing single player games during 2010 but I’d missed the social aspect of online gaming and it was that along with the newly released expansion (especially in CE format) that persuaded me to pick it back up again and convert one of my existing ‘toons to one of the new races. My original Horde main actually who went by the name of Hellvira.

Other than that, January was pretty standard. Back to work after the holiday with only weekends to look forward to. The highlight of January, however, was the first step in my life long ambition of going to the United States of America and booking a trip to New York in celebration of my 40th. Now that gave me something to look forward to.

January rolled into February and everything was going along smoothly. February became March as is its wont and that’s when the shit hit the fan.

It was about two weeks before the holidays and just after having a meeting at work about our department’s three year plan under a new interim director, myself and a handful of others were told that we were being made redundant because our roles were being transferred to India. And that was that. After 14 years service, as of April, I was no longer required. Happy Birthday and all that.

Yeah.

So 1st April came and I celebrated my 40th birthday. Me! 40! I don’t feel it. What is 40 supposed to feel like? I still feel the same as I did when I was 14. But there I was, being suitably embarrassed by my family in a pub that I usually go to once a month. There were helium balloons courtesy of my sister but it was a great time even despite the news I’d just been hit with. It was a few days after that, that I began my gardening leave. This is where the company pays you but you don’t come into work. You stay at home and lounge about in the garden, hence the term. Given that due to the length of my service, my leave wouldn’t end until the end of June, I now had the next three months to do nothing but line up another job for when my leave ended.

I did have the opportunity to continue to stay at work and move departments for a temporary basis but I’d still be losing my job after that. So the choice was:

a) Stay at home and look for another job at my leisure and basically do what I want and still get paid for three months.
b) Go to work for three months as usual with no extra benefit whilst looking for another job.

Which would you choose? Yup. Option a it was.

However, I essentially took April off because at the end of that month I was finally on a plane to New York! And it was a blast! Specifically, I only went to Manhattan island and I only saw a bit of that but I only had four days and they were filled. Highlights were; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Empire State Building (actually wanted to do the Rockefeller but it was foggy the day we were supposed to go), Macy’s, Times Square, Grand Central, World Trade Centre, Staten Island… you get the idea. An amazing place. The only disappointment was the Statue of Liberty. She is TINY! I knew she wasn’t that big but I still expected her to be larger than she actually is. But all good things come to an end and was soon heading home. The unexpected part? I was contacted by a colleague whilst in New York about an agency who would eventually get me my next role.

The end of April and the rest of May saw my job hunt begin in earnest. I wasn’t too concerned about money because I was still being paid and had enough savings to last me until the winter before I need panic. But I was hitting it with everything I had before recruiters started to go on holiday and things got delayed until the autumn. May did have one bright spot. Back in WoW, Hellvira made it as far as 35 all those years ago before I switched to the Alliance and Wai was born. Anyway, six years and a race and name change later and Hellvira, now Sussurai finally hit level cap. Yes, five months to get 50 levels but I only (and still do) play a few hours over the weekends as opposed to the few hours every night.

June is when it started to turn around. June was when I had the interview that I’d been waiting for that had been arranged by the agent I’d been introduced to whilst I was in New York (yay for the digital age and phones that can do e-mail and browse the internet). The interview went well, I thought and it fact it did. I got a job offer and would start at the beginning of July. The rest of June then just became a true holiday. I got up late, did nothing and just relaxed. In part because I could but also because I knew I wouldn’t be getting any other time during the summer like I had been doing.

And then it became July and the start of my new and current job. July, August and September went by with all the usual settling in, getting to know people (still don’t know everyone there!) and getting used to my new commute.

October saw my first holiday since my New York trip which seemed like it had happened so very long ago, not just a few months back. I decided to treat myself because I still had my redundancy money and 2011 had been somewhat of a crappy year and so rented a house in a marina complex in Dartmouth. Luxury would the correct adjective. And I thought that 2011 had settled down now. I could relax. No more shocks.

Wrong!

Because I’d completed my probation at work, I was now eligible for the cycle to work scheme where I could purchase a bicycle essentially VAT free. So I took advantage of that and got a nice one for £750 at the beginning of November. Unfortunately someone else thought it was nice as well and four days later, arriving back to the station where I’d locked it, found it no longer there. The irony of it? When I got home, the second bike lock that I’d ordered was waiting for me. Fortunately, I’d had the bike insured and so got it replaced.

The other important thing of note was the realisation of a thirty year old dream and that was to get my first tattoo. I now and for the rest of my life have a tribal dragon tattoo on my right thigh.The more observant will note that I said ‘first’. I’ve others planned. November became December far too quickly for my liking and here I am with 2012 a couple of hours away.

The one thing about 2011 is that it was interesting with all those ups and downs and shocks to the system. Let’s not have a repeat.

Hears to 2012. Hopefully it will be a smoother ride. Please?

Happy New Year!

I will have to admit that for an impulse buy, I was very pleasantly surprised with this. I saw Twelve Days of Christmas listed on Amazon for 99p and with it being the season and all that, I felt like reading something festive and so bought it. And am glad I did.

It tells the tale of Holly Brown, a woman who doesn’t celebrate Christmas due to her upbringing as a Strange Baptist and the fact that her husband died in the season as well. So to avoid this, she works as a professional house sitter in various locations where nobody knows her and she can just have a quiet couple of weeks until it’s all passed.

Which has worked out fine for the past years until she’s sent to look after the stately home called of Jude Martland, a name similar to the one uttered by her grandmother on her deathbed. Unfortunately for her, Jude’s unexpected absence has left a lot of people disappointed as they would normally all get together in the Old Place in Little Mumming and celebrate in true gaudy style.

As a professional chef and feeling guilty for these people, Holly takes it upon herself to host the festivities in place of Jude which is fine until he comes home unexpectedly early.

Whilst it felt as though this book was going from one meal to the next (you can’t read this without your mouth watering), this was a warm and pleasant tale of a widow coming to terms with her loss after years of grief and opening her heart again. The cast of characters were a treat and that includes Merlin, Lady and Billy the dog, horse and goat respectively.

A warm and cosy read to be read in front of a fire with a mince pie to hand.

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For an ‘ultimate’ guide, I have to say that it was disappointing.

The majority of the guide and I do mean about 75% was taken up by pointless re-cap of the six books of the series. Aside from brief introductions to each book written by Richelle Mead, I fail to see the point of these. I’ve read all the books in the VA series and I remember them quite well. If I didn’t, they are on my shelves where I could go and read them again, if I wanted to. What’s the point of re-hashing the story? The only answer that I can possibly think of is it might be useful for those who wish to pick up the Bloodlines series without having read the VA series and what to know the background.

The remainder of the book actually contains the real guide. It gives biographies on all the major characters. That actually contained a couple of surprises such as how young Victor Dashkov is and where Janine Hathaway comes from. It also includes the author’s views on the love triangle between Rose, Dmitri and Adrian as well as the romance between Lissa and Christian. And a page is devoted to the various magical elements.

I think part of my disappointment is that this written by Michelle Rowen, an author whose Sarah Dearly books I enjoy so I know what she is capable of. But when it comes to insider guides for book series I would point to The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider’s Guide by J.R. Ward as a perfect example.

Definitely one for completists and die-hard fans only.

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In case it’s not obvious, Sun, Sand & Sex is an anthology of three stories each with the theme of…er…sun, sand and sex. I like it when books are titled like that. It keeps things nice and simple.

The three stories are fairly straightforward in that the plots are simply basic romances. There are no twists or surprises, at least not for the reader, and as such, are pure entertainment and escapism.

One Last Weekend by Linda Lael Miller tells the story of a couple whose marriage has drifted apart and decide to get divorced simply because it seems the right thing to do. However, they are convinced by their mutual friend and divorce attorney to spend one last weekend at the cottage they have on an island in Washington.

It’s there they come to realise that they actually still love one another immensely and re-discover how to communicate with each other.

This a very short, but sweet love story about two people who discover how sex can break down all sorts of barriers. Fun and hot.

You Give Love a Good Name by Jennifer Apodaca is the story of a wedding planner and a bounty hunter. After things go wrong at a wedding in which a staple gun gets used to staple something other than paper Lexie goes on vacation. However, because of her forgetful lawyer, she ends up missing a court date and so it’s up to Nick to bring her back.

Whilst there is an interesting suspenseful element with Lexie insisting she’s being stalked and everyone else, with the exception of Nick, not believing her the romance seemed a little forced. Nick’s too aggressive even with Lexie. Whilst he may champion her cause, apparently she can’t except a job at the resort she’s staying because he says so. Never mind that that’s not his decision to make.

My Kind of Town (The Long Island Coven #1) by Shelly Laurenston is the whole reason I bought this anthology. Emma is a powerful witch and is sent by her coven to the town of Smithville, North Carolina to investigate supernatural goings on. When arriving in town, however, her car is totalled by a huge dog and she is ‘rescued’ by Kyle, one of the town’s deputies. Who happens to be a black leopard shifter.

I can’t determine what it was but this didn’t engage me as much as the Magnus Pack or Pride books. Perhaps it was because I’d read both of those amazing series first and I might have enjoyed this more had I read this first and then moved on.

Because the characters are all brand new (even the town is different; Smithville, North Carolina and not Smithtown, Tennessee) newcomers to the series will find it serves as a perfect introduction to the shifter world created by Shelly Laurenston.

It contains all the elements to be found in her books; snarky dialogue between all the characters, hilarious scenes (I found the drunk Emma scene so funny as well as another scene where she keeps poking his chest) and steamy sex.

On the whole Sun, Sand & Sex was a nice anthology, a quick and light read with good, if not outstanding stories.

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