Between the Covers - Book Review #14

There's been a lot of reading going on lately in my house and sadly, not much writing while I recover from my many stays at the hospital recently! :(

I have five selections for you, my faithful demon hunters.

1) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern proved to be an envious debut novel. I don't really know what so many of the "critics" were talking about on Goodreads and other review sites; this book wasn't all description without plot. If you read enough reviews yourself, you will find that people either loved or hated the book because of her descriptions, which some readers found too lengthy and distracting. I found her writing to be wonderful. This is a beautiful fantasy love story involving two dueling magicians at a circus I wish to attend! (And that's saying something for me, since I don't approve of circuses because of their use of animals.) Do not miss this series and if you're a writer, have tissues handy, for you will probably be crying with envy!

2) Sherrilyn Kenyon's Bad Moon Rising is a pleasing addition to her Dark-Hunter series, but don't expect a very complicated plot. Do expect a light, entertaining love story between two different Were species and some action/fight scenes. No big plot twists here, but it's a good escape, though I could have done without the detailed sex scenes. At least, they were mostly plot oriented and not gratuitous.

3) Dean Koontz's 77th Shadow Street left me with a sour taste in my mouth. What promised to be a unique story about an apartment building with a dark history fell flat. The characters are interesting and unique, but Koontz's delivery falls apart in the last few chapters, in which I finally learned the origin of the malevolent being targeting tenants and was disappointed. It's a great explanation, but too little and too late.

4) Patricia Cornwell's The Scarpetta Factor is another great addition to the Scarpetta forensic series, with a few good turns. However, towards the end, a few chapters cut would speed things up nicely. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is one of my all-time favorite female characters from a crime/suspense series. In this story, the suspects include an actor accused of a sex crime and a former, secret billionairess lover of Lucy's.

5) In Kathy Reichs's 206 Bones, Temperance Brenan is kidnapped and trapped in an underground tomb. The story works backwards in time, which is refreshing, though if you watch the TV series, Bones, like most beasts, the books are an entirely different animal from the TV series, of which, I actually enjoy both. In this novel, Brenan solves the murders of a few elderly women and discovers someone in her forensic lab is sabotaging her work and her reputation. This is a quick read, but worth it.

What Are You Reading Between the Covers? - #10

Well, it's cold in Wisconsin where I am vacationing. Spring has come to Dallas and I am not there to enjoy it, but it's still under the cover book reading weather in Milwaukee. As usual, I raided the local library the day after my flight home to see my folks. I've read three novels on vacation so far, Nightlight, a parody of the Twilight series by The Harvard Lampoon, Dean Koontz's What the Night Knows, and Nightwalker, the first Dark Days novel by Jocelynn Drake.

Nightlight didn't even take me a full day to read. Whether or not you are a fan of the Twilight series, this is a funny parody. (For the record, I am not a fan. I think Bella and Edward are whiny and annoying. Bella is not a strong female character and Edward annoyed me with how indecisive he was about being near Bella or staying away). The parody plays on a lot of the plot from Meyer's work. Belle Goose is the female protagonist. Her klutziness is even more apparent, which is funny, so is her need to cook for her father. She drives a U-Haul she is obsessed with. Her relationship with Edwart is very dramatic and you can't help but snort at the way The Harvard Lampoon pokes fun of Meyer's drawn out love triangle. However, about halfway through the book the humor becomes a bit heavy and the read gets slower. This is not a book I would recommend for anyone looking for a stellar parody, but it is passable.

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz was a wonderful read. I really enjoyed this one. The two sisters, Naomi and Minnie were my favorite characters. Naomi is the older sister who still believes in fairytales and knights, while Minnie, the younger sister likes to keep her grounded in stark blazing reality. Minnie's personality is essential to the conclusion of the story. The plot centers around a serial killer's ghost coming back to finish the job he started. Not a new idea, but Koontz writes an engaging plot. And who couldn't love the endearing ghost of the family dog, Willard, who tries to warn them of impending doom?After recently losing a pet, this small detail really touched my heart. I recommend this read, if you are a fan of Koontz. It is more like classic Koontz than some of his newer books have been. It was nice to see him back again.

I was skeptical about Nightwalker, mainly because of the cheesy artwork on the cover. It looked like it was going to be the same type of vampire novel I read before, but Drake managed to freshen up the vampire image with her female character, Mira, also a fire starter. And then of course, there's the naturi, which are her version of the fey. Mira is searching for the naturi to stop them from completing a magical rite that would open a mysterious seal and change the world for supernaturals and humans alike. Along the way she meets, Danaus, a hunter, who has some odd powers of his own. We don't learn what he is in the first book, but I have my suspicions he is not fully human. I would recommend this book, if you like Rachel Morgan in Kim Harrison's Hollows series. Mira could match Ivy fang for fang, in my opinion.

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!

What's in Your Library?

I cycle through some books from my personal library, sharing them with friends and family and donating to my local library for their fundraisers, but some books are treasured and will never leave my shelves. These books would leave the house first in a house fire before my own person, in fact, I would forgo putting on shoes or grabbing my wallet to take my books with me, I love them that much!

Over the years, I've collected a bunch of books that remain in my permanent collection. My shelves are organized according to my weird writer's logic. I have a horror/sci-fi/fantasy section, broken up into author groupings and then a special section for short story collections.

There's the Native American section, the arts, gardening and cooking sections, and my world religion section, which includes everything from The Tao of Pooh to a copy of The Holy Qu'ran.

I also have a poetry and English major section, which runs the gamut from The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor to James Joyce's Ulysses and Frank O'Hara's poetry. (Toni Morrison holds a special place in that section).

And then there's my research section, which consists of books like Weird Wisconsin and Fabulous Creatures and Other Magical Beings, a bestiary of mythological creatures, Joseph Campbell's books, The Golden Bough, and lots more.

My husband has started the tradition of buying me collectors books for my library for my birthday and other special days. The very first book he bought me was a signed first edition hardcover of Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show. For the holidays this year I got a first edition signed Tick Tock by Dean Koontz. For my last wedding anniversary I got a signed copy of Postscripts # 10 with great signatures like Stephen King,  Ramsey Campbell, Graham Joyce, Lucius Shepard, and more! And a few years ago, my kind husband relinquished his already purchased and signed hardcover copy of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine to my brother-in-law for our annual gift exhange. (However, I still give my lovely husband credit for that one!) There are others in my collection, but those are my favorites.

I hope to acquire more throughout the years. Next to my family, my cats, and my pizza, I love my books the

best. I missed out on an early copy of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe last year. As Kim Harrison's character Madison Avery would say, "Son of a puppy!"

That concludes my Show and Tell today, folks.

Offtopic side note: My husband brought this balloon home to celebrate my Godzilla/Hello Kitty love story I previously blogged about. Notice the drawn on mouth which correlates to my story, now up on the Critters forum in first draft for critique, if anyone is interested. I've been getting some good feedback and am currently working on flushing out Hello Kitty's character. Thanks to everyone who has critiqued this week!

Also, Kim Harrison has a sneak preview of her new Hollows novel, Pale Demon up on her site, for anyone who follows that series.

As always, happy writing and happy reading!

What Are You Reading Between the Covers? - #5

FYI: Before I get to the heart of my topic, just have to gush that David Wellington got back to me and liked my post about him! Thanks, Dave!

Now to business...

I have become a not-sleeping, well-oiled, book-reading machine in the last week. Toshio and I have poured over hundreds of pages with many a cup of good tea into the wee hours of the morning. (Well, I have the tea and he has a feather toy to chew on, but a cat has his priorities too, you know!)

Years after starting Dean Koontz's Frankenstein trilogy and getting distracted by other books along the way, I finally finished the last book in the series, Dead and Alive. 

Here's a short synopsis of the trilogy: Victor Frankenstein, now known as Victor Helios, has survived over two hundred years and is still trying to perfect his master race of engineered creatures in New Orleans, Louisiana with his vast acquired fortune while Deucalion, Victor's first creation, has sought revenge against his maker and the abominations trying to make the human race extinct.

In the third book, Deucalion, along with the help of a wily dog named The Duke of Orleans and two detectives also featured in the first two books, is rushing to destroy Victor Helios's work. The engineered race is planning mass annihilation of the human race in just a few days. It was a quick, amusing read, with good commentary on genetic engineering and the responsibility of science for it's advances, etc. However, I was kind of disappointed in the ending. After all that happened, I wanted to savor the torture at the end of the book a little more. I won't give it away, in case anyone plans on reading it, though. I hate book spoilers!

As far as being a modern take on Mary Shelley's classic work, I think Koontz achieved his goal with prowess. Setting it in New Orleans, was the perfect creepy cherry on top of a bloody sundae! I would recommend it as a good, light read.

I then sunk my teeth into Wendy Webb's author debut from 2010, the modern gothic tale, The Tale of Halcyon Crane. This was a haunting, beautifully written tale about a young woman who inherits the estate of a mother she did not know existed and the unsolved murder of a young girl from her past. The book is set on the fictional island of Grand Manitou on Lake Superior, modeled after the real Mackinac Island, an excellent choice for a dark, gothic rendezvous! Having grown up playing on the shores of Lake Michigan, I couldn't resist such a lovely story set on a Great Lake. In fact, I loved it so much I read early into the morning until I was too tired to keep my eyes open and then picked it back up as soon as I awoke.

There was a bonus at the end of the book -- an interview with the author discussing her novel and her inspiration for the story, etc. as well. That was a nice touch. I highly recommend this one.

And now back to the writing and reading grind...

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!