strange and random happenstance

Cemetery Girl Book 1: The Pretenders by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden
Published by: InkLit
Publication Date: January 7th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Charlaine Harris, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and the Harper Connelly Mysteries, and New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden present an original graphic novel illustrated by acclaimed comic book artist Don Kramer—first in a brand-new trilogy.

She calls herself Calexa Rose Dunhill—names taken from the grim surroundings where she awoke, bruised and bloody, with no memory of who she is, how she got there, or who left her for dead.

She has made the cemetery her home, living in a crypt and avoiding human contact. But Calexa can’t hide from the dead—and because she can see spirits, they can’t hide from her.

Then one night, Calexa spies a group of teenagers vandalizing a grave—and watches in horror as they commit murder. As the victim’s spirit rises from her body, it flows into Calexa, overwhelming her mind with visions and memories not her own.

Now Calexa must make a decision: continue to hide to protect herself—or come forward to bring justice to the sad spirit who has reached out to her for help..."

I remember years back, when Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book came out, Charlaine was saying how she had an idea about a girl growing up in a cemetery and now that Gaiman had written his book, she wasn't going to go ahead with her idea. To which he replied, oh please do write it, because no two people can write the same book. Plus, all book ideas are derivitive to an extent, so finally we get to see what Charlaine was thinking all those years ago. So excited, not to mention the Christopher Golden link!

The Ghoul Next Door by Victoria Laurie
Published by: Signet
Publication Date: January 7th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"On a well-deserved hiatus from the ghoulish grind of their TV show, Ghoul Getters, psychic medium M. J. Holliday, her boyfriend, Heath, and her best friend, Gilley, are back home in Boston. But there’s no rest for the weary ghost busters. M. J.’s ex comes to her for help—his fiancée’s brother Luke seems haunted by a sinister spirit.

The crew sets up surveillance cameras to watch for the possessive poltergeist while Luke is sleeping. But when he goes outside in the middle of the night and returns hours later covered in blood, they are all very concerned—especially when the news reports the murder of a young woman in the neighborhood.

Now M. J., Heath, and Gilley must remain self-possessed as they try to stop a wicked ghost whose behavior is anything but neighborly."

Do I tire of our lovable Ghost Hunter? No.

Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 7th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…

Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.

Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who’s more comfortable with guns than ghosts—unfortunately for him, he’s the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida’s supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her...

On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise…"

Sold at San Francisco, but extra want because of time period!

Home of the Braised by Julie Hyzy
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 7th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With the pressure of an upcoming state dinner that could make or break the president’s foreign policy, White House executive chef Olivia Paras has precious little time to focus on her wedding plans—or to catch a murderer…

Tensions are running high as the White House staff adjusts to a new chief usher and prepares for a high-stakes state dinner, where everything must be perfect. But as the date for the event approaches, things go disastrously wrong when the secretary of defense is found dead in his home, seemingly killed during a break-in.

At the same time Olivia’s fiancé, Gav, is looking into the mysterious murder of an old friend. Is there a connection? Despite an increase in security following the secretary’s death, Ollie learns the president is in imminent danger at the dinner and must do everything in her power to get to him—before it’s too late…"

For my mom who's addicted to these books.

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace Hardcover
Publication Date: January 7th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The first Alpha and Omega novel, Cry Wolf, unlocked the doors to a unique urban landscape in “a great…new werewolf series” (Darque Reviews). In Hunting Ground, #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs invites readers to follow her even deeper into that seductive realm of the unknown…

Anna Latham didn’t know how complicated life could be until she became a werewolf. And until she was mated to Charles Cornick, the son—and enforcer—of Bran, the leader of the North American werewolves, she didn’t know how dangerous it could be, either…

Anna and Charles have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Bran’s controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan—and it seems like someone else might be, too. When Anna is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Charles and Anna must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all—or risk losing everything…"

Easily love this series as much as Briggs's Mercy Thompson books, and now in a fabulous hardcover edition!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Cemetery Girl, Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Ghost Hunter, Hunting Ground, Jenn Bennett, Julie Hyzy, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Briggs, San Francisco, The Graveyard Book, Victoria Laurie

Fair Game (Alpha and Omega Book 3) by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 6th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Anna feels that Charles is cutting her off. He is spending more and more time enacting his father's justice without letting Anna in. He may wish to spare her the pain, but it might also drive him insane. Charles needs to get away from himself and the dark world he lives in. While he can't escape, he can change his focus. From being an executioner to being an investigator might be the subtle shift he needs. There is a serial killer on the loose in Boston. Long thought gone to other locals, the killer is back on his home turf. The FBI are desperate and call Charles' Da for some help, he offers them Anna and Charles. They quickly learn that this isn't any ordinary killer, but one targeting their own kind, werewolves.

This new clue in an otherwise stagnate case throws everything into a new light. Soon Anna and Charles are working within a standard police procedural, with their own twist, bringing werewolves to crime scenes and reestablishing their bonds on a hunt for the killer on a small island. There are overtones of wealth and prosperity, as if the Kennedy's where serial killers, as they narrow in on their suspect. Yet the fact they are hunting one who hunts their own kind leads to a whole new level of danger. Will Anna and Charles be the same after the horrors they have seen... will the world?

I waited, not really patiently, for months for this book to come. I fell in love with the world Patricia Briggs' has created and I love that Anna and Charles have also been embraced by the fans, an obvious deduction by the fact the book was released in hardcover, not paperback like the previous two. There's a part of me that wishes I had re-read the previous installment of this series before hunkering down to read this one. But only a little part of me, because really, Hunting Ground wasn't the best Patricia Briggs can do and there was only one or two references where I was like... was that in the last book... yeah, don't remember that. Also, thankfully, the "brother wolf" was toned down a bit. The book embraced the hunt for the killer and police procedural nature of the story without dwelling too much on Anna and Charles' always fraying bond. They're together, stop throwing so much strife between them.

I was glad I had purposefully cleared my calendar for this book because I don't think I could have stopped reading the book once I started. The hunt for a killer is a powerful narrative force, even if Briggs occasionally used the kidnapping trope, but then again, a killer does have to abduct it's victims, so I guess I can forgive it, except for Anna... maybe... Even if I was able to figure out the killer almost immediately, there where little things I missed that helped the ending be a bit of a surprise. The problem though is, with reading this in a day, now what do I do till the next book comes out? She seems to be jumping them back and forth, so no new Anna and Charles till perhaps 2014... sigh. And with that cliffhanger with the faeries!?! I'm sorry, she just changed all the rules in this game. People who read Mercy but don't read this spin off series better start, because the last few pages of this book changes everything.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alpha and Omega, Anna, Boston, Charles Cornick, Fair Game, Hunting Ground, Kennedys, Patricia Briggs

Hunting Ground (Alpha and Omega Book 2) by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: August 25th, 2009
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
Challenge: Shifter Challenge 2011, Horror and Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★
To Buy
Charles and Anna are still adjusting to married life. Charles isn't used to letting anyone into his closed off, sequestered little world and Anna is having trust issues after the brutality she faced at the hands of her previous pack. But personal issues have to be set aside for the greater good of the werewolves. Bran, the Marrok, the Alpha of all North American Alphas, has called a meeting in Seattle where the European werewolves can voice their concerns about the announcement of their existence. They don't have a vote or a choice. This will be happening. But Bran is willing to offer them whatever they need in return, from monies to shelter. The Italians, Germans and French werewolves are the main factions, with England being solely represented by their leader Arthur. They all have personal grudges and feuds. The Italians are bringing another Omega, Ric, whom they swiped away from the Germans, and France is being represented by Chastel, THE BEAST, whose blood lust is notorious. Charles has such concerns over his fathers safety that he does the unheard of and stands up to his father saying that he and Anna will go in his stead. Charles does not care if the others view this as a slight. It's for his father's protection. Arriving at the local packs landing strip, Anna and Charles head into Seattle. For Charles, this is not his element. He is one with nature, not concrete and noise, which is what Anna is. She loves the bustling metropolis right on the water, reminiscent of her hometown, Chicago. Their first stop off is to visit the fairy that Bran has negotiated with. Dana is to see that there is no bloodshed and the truth is spoken, of course, it is virtually impossible to do that around werewolves anyway.

Once their offering has been given to Dana all sorts of hell starts to break loose. There are too many Alphas in once place. First they all show up at a local restaurant and the fracas has to be calmed. The next day Anna is taken shopping by a member of the local pack and his white witch wife, where they are promptly attacked by vampires using werewolf pack magic. But this doesn't stop business from continuing on as usual and dinner parties needing to be attended. Anna and Charles visit Arthur and his human mate Sunny for dinner. Arthur believes he is the reincarnation of the real King Arthur, and even carries around a sword he claims is Excalibur. Sunny will be the first victim. It should have been Anna, but, her life seems to be worth something, unlike others. As death starts to reign down on what was to be a "peaceful" conference, Charles is glad his father isn't present, but he sure wishes that Anna was out of harms way. Trying to untangle who is really behind these attacks and who they can trust will take all the courage and strength the newlyweds have. And hopefully they'll get a happily ever after.

Intertwining myth and pack politics, this is the least successful of Briggs' novels I've read. So much of what drove the first installment of the Alpha and Omega series was the ping ponging back and forth between the confused minds of the two leads. Will they make this work, can they truly be mated. Seeing as at the beginning of this book they are together and everything is going as smoothly as it can given that they have just recently met, there is way to much uncertainty in each other and too much possessiveness on the part of "Brother Wolf." They are MATED. In the world Briggs has created, they are together, there's no going back. They are one. To then have them doubt this over and over makes you kind of want to slap them. But aside from their obvious character flaws, this book took to long to get to the center of all the swirling red herrings. Once you finally got there you realized, it's kind of cool. This is a neat integration of Arthurian Legend and other mythologies into a world of werewolves. But it took a long time of "are we there yet" to reach the point of satisfaction. While I am interested to see what happens to these characters, if they keep doubting themselves and their purpose, I'll start doubting why I'm still reading this series.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, Alpha and Omega, Anna, Charles, Chastel, Excaliber, Fairies, Hunting Ground, King Arthur, Marrock, Mate, Patricia Briggs, Seattle, Werewolves

Hunting Ground: Alpha and Omega Book Two by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: August 25th, 2009
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles's reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer—or Charles will take the fall."

Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Del Ray/Dabel Brothers
Publication Date: August 25th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mercy Thompson is a walker, a magical being with the power to transform into a coyote. She lives on the fine line dividing the everyday world from a darker dimension, observing the supernatural community while standing apart.

When Mercy travels to the Tri-Cities of Washington for a job interview, she quickly finds herself smack-dab in the middle of a gang war between rival packs of werewolves. And as if fangs and fur weren’t bad enough, Mercy must deal with the scariest creature of all: her mother, who is convinced that Mercy is making a mess of her life and determined to set her daughter on the right course.

The thrilling adventures of Mercy Thompson–Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed–have topped the New York Times bestseller list. Now Mercy makes her comics debut in an exclusive new story created by Patricia Briggs. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming is sure to please longtime fans and capture new ones with its mix of unforgettable characters and thrilling supernatural intrigue."

So tomorrow is a Patricia Briggs double header. Patricia is best known for her Mercy Thompson series that has drawn comparisons to authors like Charlaine Harris, Charles De Lint and Laurell K. Hamilton. The urban fantasy series concerns Mercy, who is a shifter and a VW mechanic. Hunting Ground, which does not center on Mercy, is set in her world, and is the second in the Alpha and Omega series that started with Cry Wolf, which followed the novella in the On the Prowl anthology. While in Homecoming, Mercy returns, but for the first time she's in comics. This is a prequel to the current Mercy Thompson books and is sure to get Patricia Briggs new readers due to the fact a person hesitant to pick up a book might pick up a comic. This was recently done by Jim Butcher with his Harry Dresden books and it's nice to see that publishers are willing to try new things to get more readers for these great authors. So if you're already a fan, or are in need of some similar reads while waiting for Dead in the Family, be sure to check out the world of Mercy Thompson, you won't be disappointed!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 1:08 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alpha and Omega, Charlaine Harris, Charles De Lint, Cry Wolf, Harry Dresden, Homecoming, Hunting Ground, Jim Butcher, Mercy Thompson, On the Prowl, Patricia Briggs, Tuesday Tomorrow