POLL! The Undead Pool (The Hollows, #12) by Kim Harrison
So we have a title folks! The Undead Pool is the name for the penultimate entry of The Hollows. In typical Clint Eastwood fashion, it’s likely playing off the film, The Dead Pool. I’ve decided to create a new post on the matter and deleted my previous one as I’ve mulled it over and found new info. So apparently Kim’s original title would have been Mystic Impact, reflecting the introduction of a new species, the mystics, but the publishers and their marketing team liked this one better. I have a degree in marketing and I think Mystic Impact sounds fine. The Undead Pool works too though! Brings me back to the original 3 books that used “dead” and its variants 
.
Though personally, I’m kind of glad the series titles eventually switched up starting with A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, #4). There are a number of long series where, while I might recall what happens book by book, the actual titles are so similar that I can’t distinguish them if my life depended on it (ie: series that use “grave” or “dead” or “witch” other popular urban fantasy terms ad nauseam in EVERY title), so I think the powers that be should also keep that in mind. Do they really think readers are that dumb? For The Hollows, I can name every one in my sleep. The play on Clint Eastwood titles was a great move. Either way, I know book 12 is going to be phenomenal. I am seriously counting the days until it’s in my mitts, hopefully with an ARC this fall. So which title do you like more?
Review + Giveaway! Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2) by Jeaniene Frost
Synopisis: Leila’s psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn’t sure what the future holds. If that weren’t enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she’s also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won’t admit that he loves her.
Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.
Review
I enjoyed the first Night Prince novel immensely. As I’ve said before, Vlad is easily my favorite character of the franchise, so I’m super happy that he gets three books. He’s a very frustrating character at times with arrogance that knows no bounds, but Frost knows how to make the payoff worth it. I found the glimpse into his ruthless nature and past to be a highlight of the story, though I feel as if we’re still only scratching the surface. Leila was pretty cool in this book. I like that she’s a capable heroine, though clearly her humanity hinders her abilities and that’s a major focus of the novel. I wish the villains were fleshed out a little more, but it looks like book 3 will round that all out. I’m looking forward to it. There’s an excerpt of the next Cat & Bones book as well. I do hope we see more of Vlad and Leila in that installment. I don’t believe we saw him at all in the prior Cat and Bones novel and he was sorely missed.
I think it goes without saying that this is a definite recommend for fans of the series.
*Review copy provided by the publisher.
Giveaway
I am collecting entries through Sunday, May 5th . I will announce the winner the next day.
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email and/or Twitter. (Make sure you check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post and your entry will be added. Overall, there are up to 3 chances to win:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
- Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)
- “Like” Your Urban Fantasy on Facebook (bonus entry)
While I do appreciate RSS subscribers, I cannot confirm your status as a follower so your entry will not count (sorry!); however, you are welcome to sign up by email and Twitter or Facebook. Good luck!
Ever After (The Hollows #11) now $7.99!
What a surprise! Usually we don’t see a price drop until the fall, but for ebook readers it’s come early! I’m not sure if this is temporary or not, but based on my poll a number of you were planning to wait for a price drop. Well, now you have it:
Amazon Kindle Users
Barnes & Noble Book Users
Freebie Friday! Angel’s Ink: The Asylum Tales
Hi Guys! Apologies for the sparse posts. I’ve been spending pretty much every free moment I have working on an unrelated project for this deadline coming up. That, and I fully immersed myself in the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series so that I can review them as a whole. So reviews are pending but Kindle and Nook users, if you want to give Jocelynn Drake’s Angel’s Ink: The Asylum Tales a try, here’s your chance to do it for free!
Amazon
B&N
Kim Harrison - Facebook Chat Takeaways (Major Ever After Spoilers Ahead)
So if you didn’t have a lot of time to read through the Facebook chat Kim held at Harper Voyager’s page on Friday, you’re in luck. Here are the top 5 important things you need to know (in no particular order):
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
- Jenks and Belle will not become a couple. Though they are getting closer, it will be more of a comrade in arms type of relationship.
- Ceri and Pierce’s deaths will impact the series, but it will not be on Kisten’s level.
- When the last books hit re-write mode, there’s a chance we’ll learn more about Al’s wife (no guarantee though). But in other news, he apparently also knew Trent’s mom and her death is why there are no pixies in Trent’s garden.
- Gonna direct quote this one. Take it for what you will:
Renee Martin: Okay my question is, are you ever going to let Rachel and Trent do it already? It’s driving me around the bend
Kim Harrison: Hi Renee. OMGosh, you’re going to like book 12.
- The last scene of the final Hollows book was originally going to end on a beach. But it’s recently been changed to Trent’s stables.
Hollows Digest - Kim Harrison Q&A This Friday! She’s been all over the place!
Hi everyone! Just giving you a heads up that Kim Harrison is doing a Q&A at Harper Voyager’s Facebook page this Friday from 2-3pm EST. She’s currently polling at her page as to whether spoilers will be allowed:
https://www.facebook.com/questions/10151462492864940/
I vote “yes” to spoilers of course. If I can attend I’ll be there! And besides, the book has been out a few weeks already! Most people willing to carve out an hour in their afternoon on a Friday have probably read it. Friday you can check in here:
https://www.facebook.com/HarperVoyagerBooksUS?ref=ts&fref=ts
She’s also done a ton of interviews. I can hardly keep up!
http://www.wyso.org/post/book-nook-ever-after-kim-harrison
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/harper-voyager
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/video_chat/59
That’s just to name a few! Thankfully she’s listed a bunch herself at her website:
http://www.kimharrison.net/
I watched the ustream and goodreads interviews and I plan to listen to the radio interview. Has anyone checked out the others? Please feel free to share any juicy tidbits!
Vicky Pettersson series sale for Kindle and Nook users! 6 books for 99 cents each!
Hi Guys! Not to spam you all with deals, but Harper Collins currently has a pretty awesome sale for Kindle and Nook owners. Vicky Pettersson’s Signs of the Zodiac series is on sale for 99 cents a piece. That’s 6 books for $5.94! I’m not sure how long it will last, but I’m definitely jumping on it.
Milo 2.0 by Debra Driza - A tentative start but it gets better
First off, I want to thank you all for being patient while I try to work out a couple of snags with my site’s transition. Things aren’t perfect quite yet, but I do have a new review ready to go…finally
If you’re a fan of films like Robocop, Artificial Intelligence and Bourne Identity then Milo 2.0 
might be right up your alley, only with a young adult flavor thrown in. This new series centers on Mila, a seemingly normal teenage girl whose world is turned upside down after a freak accident reveals that she’s not quite human. In fact, she’s a cyborg military experiment, removed from their clutches to prevent those with ill intentions from doing more harm than good. With her identity revealed, she must go on the run with her “mom,” one of the engineers who fled with Mila, making tough decisions that cause her question whether she’s truly more man or machine.
I think I read this book at the right time. I was looking for something a little different from the usual urban fantasy or contemporary series. I am a fan of sci-fi stories and this is very well done for young adult genre. I think Debra Driza is positioning herself well, carving out her own little niche in the YA realm.
The book starts off with the typical day in the life of a teenager, so it was a little slow for me. I don’t read YA very much anymore because I no longer find the high school thing very interesting, and those I do read have little to none of that element. However, it has its place here in the story because the reader is allowed believe in Mila as a normal teenage girl. She’s very emotional and when she learns her true identity and purpose it’s very easy to sympathize. This technique (though in reverse) reminded me of Artificial Intelligence and how Haley Joel Osment’s character was handled. I may have cried during that movie and I go on record to say that I am NOT a crier!
I did think it was a little ridiculous that the military would design a teenage cyborg for the purposes of infiltrating groups and gathering intel as opposed to an adult, but I let it go. If you start reading the book and are a little disenchanted with it keep reading because the action really does pick up. I was on the edge of my seat with next to no idea of what would happen next. I found Mila to be easily likeable and though she may not be a human girl, she’s still a “real” girl to me. While a next book is definitely obvious, I’ve read worse cliffhangers so don’t let that dissuade you. I’m not sure if this is an ongoing series or a trilogy in the works, but I’d like to know what happens next and that’s always a good feeling to have at the end of a book. I recommend it.
*ARC provided by publisher.
Ever After Tour Signing - Diva and Kim in Austin!
Since Kim Harrison is not stopping close enough to me this year, and won’t be attending San Diego Comic Con, I have decided to live vicariously through some of my lucky followers and friends. Our very own Diva was able to meet Kim during her stop yesterday in Austin, Texas. Diva was so kind as to provide a write-up that I’ll post below. There’s definitely some food for thought in there!
Last night I had the pleasure of meeting Kim Harrison for the first time as her book tour brought her to Austin, Tx. A friend and I, said friend also being a devoted Hollows fan, made the hour long drive to see her and the trip was completely worth it. The signing was held at Book People, which is a very cool independent bookstore and if anyone is ever in the Austin are I highly recommend checking it out. We arrived a little over an hour early and that was plenty of time to secure second row seats right in front of the speaker’s podium.
Kim appeared right on time and even though she has often said that speaking in front of people is slightly outside of her comfort zone, she appeared fresh and relaxed. She began with the usual reading of a book excerpt. This time around it was another Trent/Rachel scene which marks at least the second year in a row that she has selected a scene with the two of them. Good omens, perhaps, for fans of the duo. Once the reading was done Kim began the Q&A portion of the evening. She fielded the usual questions that seem to pop up at every event, i.e. the correct pronunciation of Al’s name, what authors inspire her, why the play on Clint Eastwood titles, why did she kill Kisten. Apparently there is a significant segment of the population that never goes online for this information, lol.
There were a few nuggets of interesting information however. Kim revealed that the pilot/tv adaptation
that the CW network had been working on had cut out Jenks. Blasphemy, I say. The chrysalis that
Rachel snatched from Al and that has long sat on her windowsill will, in fact, come back into play and
we will find out its significance. By the sounds of it this may happen in the final book but whenever
it happens it will shed some light into why Al has been so “bitter” and “vindictive” (Kim’s chosen
adjectives), and why he sees himself in Rachel. So some good stuff in store for Al fans everywhere.There were, surprisingly, no real character based questions so I ponied up the one and only Trent
related question. Looking back through the series, I’ve always been curious about the two times that
Kim was seemingly prepared to pair Trent off with someone. The first time of course being his marriage
to Ellasbeth and the second time being when Ceri was introduced. If you recall, Ceri thought that Trent
was handsome and she seemed like a perfect fit for Trent, on paper. Kim acknowledged that it had
been her intention to pair Trent off both times, that she has tried to toss these women at Trent but it
never stuck. Maybe like none of Rachel’s men have ever stuck? Hmm? Anyway, Kim said that Ceri is
much happier with Quen. Ellasbeth, however, is another story and hang onto your hats people because
Kim confirms that Ellasbeth will be around for the rest. Of. The. Series. Is that a collective groan I hear?
Thought so. According to Kim, Ellasbeth is too strong and determined, has too much money and too
large of an ego to just go quietly into that good night. She also reminded the audience that Trent is
“very duty oriented” sooooo…make of that what you will. Personally, I still refuse to believe that she
would sentence Trent to a marriage with that harpy, shrew of a woman. That’s my story and I’m sticking
to it.Once the Q&A was over Kim took a brief moment to take a group picture with everyone who was
wearing a tour t-shirt. I had mine on! Then signing began and my friend and I were lucky enough to be
in the first batch of people. Kim’s husband was there and he was just as gracious and personable as Kim.
He entertained us all while we waited our turns in line, answering more personal questions about Kim
and their home life – all with Kim’s blessing, of course. While I was in earshot I learned that Kim’s eldestson is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps and that he is due to get out of the military
the same date that their youngest son will be graduating from high school. He joked that he’s not sure if
they’ll be empty nesters that day or have a full house again.Since she seemed so open and friendly, I wasn’t nervous at all about getting some one-on-one face time
with Kim when it came my turn to get my book (and Nook!) signed. She recognized my name as being
one of the occasional posters on her Drama Box and she gave me a big hug, which just totally made my
night. I didn’t ask her any additional questions, just told her that I was going to trust her on the whole
Ellasbeth thing. She laughed but hey, at least it wasn’t the evil, maniacal type of laugh.So there you have it. The Ever After book tour is officially in the history books for me and Kim did not
disappoint. Here’s to looking forward to 2014 and book 12. And to all the Ever After re-reads until then.
Thank you, Diva, for sharing the experience!
Don’t Forget! Kim Harrison Live Goodreads Q&A Tomorrow!
Tune in at 2pm EST/11am PT on Wednesday to see Kim live! I will totally be at work but I think I can take a later lunch for Kim!
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/video_chat/59
And if you haven’t seen it, you can catch her Q&A from the other night here:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/harper-voyager
Key takeaway: Rachel is technically a virgin after every reset curse!
Once Burned (Night Prince #1) - Jeaniene Frost - Vlad Vlad Vlad!
While Vlad Tepesh lends himself as a fantastic supporting character in the Night Huntress series, his personality has the word “lead” written all over it, and Jeaniene Frost was smart to take advantage of it.
He gets his own storyline that introduces his potential better half, Leila. Though mortal, a freak accident as a child leaves her with the unusual ability to channel electricity into psychic powers. Her powers are attractive to a group of vampires with malicious intentions who need her abilities to reach out to Vlad, the most infamous of them all. His power to wield fire gives him a significant upper hand, but everyone has a weakness and his adversaries may have found his through Leila. However when they meet, you don’t need chemistry lessons to know that fire + electricity = one dangerous combo.
On the heels of a Vlad-less Night Huntress book #6, I wasted no time getting to this spin-off to get my fix. Though this series is the Night Prince, the story is told from Laila’s POV, so we can’t get into his mind quite as much as fans were likely hoping. I didn’t mind it much because I actually liked Laila’s character. Though tragic and sympathetic, she’s not helpless. I look forward to the evolution of her powers over the course of this series. Sparks were certainly flying between her and Vlad, and so far I approve. There appears to be substance to her which I’ll take any day over the typical disposable heroine. Her powers at times reminded me of Rogue from X-Men, who also wears gloves to protect those close to her. She is one of my favorite characters and Rogue/Gambit is one of my favorite all-time fictional ships. It’s just that while Gambit couldn’t handle Rogue’s power; Vlad can handle Laila’s, allowing them to be more tactile.
Vlad himself is everything I wanted and then some. I feel like Frost wanted to let loose a bit more with him here. He’s sexy, hilarious, frustrating, and terrifying all at the same time. I love those types of dynamic characters in literature. However, this book was written making it clear that there would be more to come. Vlad is extremely private and even though he heats up the sheets, it’s a taller order to heat up his heart. With centuries of success comes centuries of pain, so I’m glad it may take multiple books for this resolution. I like it when my characters truly earn their happiness, and standalone books rarely cut the mustard or me when it comes to that.
There could have been a bit more development with the story, but the characters carried it enough that I found the read satisfying and refreshing from Cat & Bones’s world. It’s part one of a trilogy after all. I’m just glad I don’t have a long wait for the next one.
One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6) by Jeaniene Frost - Finally All Caught Up!
It’s tough enough trying to take down vampires and ghouls galore, but what about ghosts? Particularly ones that continue to wreak havoc beyond the grave for centuries on end? It’s not an easy fix, but Cat and Bones are determined to do it. Heinrich Kramer, a witch hunter who’s been dead for centuries, has the ability to become corporeal for one night of the year every All Hallows Eve. This allows him to torment and murder innocent women. One of his victims turns to our favorite vampire duo for help because they may be the only ones who can put a stop to it once and for all.
I’ve stated how I tend to like the odd books with this series. As an even numbered book this sort of broke that pattern, though it’s not really a favorite. I am not typically a ghost person, so I believe it says something when I can be engrossed enough to want to see what happens next. Frost makes it very easy to hate the villain and want to see him get his loooong overdue comeuppance.
The story was okay, but I admit that I missed Vlad somethin’ awful this time around. I know that he gets his own novel, but he’s become the character I most look forward to reading about in this series. I understand it’s Cat and Bones’s story but the heart wants what it wants.
Cat has been mellowing out a little more lately, in turn making her less annoying to me, but there were a couple of eye-roll inducing instances, particularly when she harps on how she was apart from Bones for 4 years. I just didn’t connect with that “angst” because they’re together now, have been for a few years, and will probably be together for centuries to come-a luxury (or curse) most couples won’t have.
All in all, while I didn’t have the Fever experience with this series (I read all 5 books in 6 days), I’m pretty proud of myself for sticking it out and getting it done. Now I look forward to Vlad’s book!
Happy Happy HOLLOWS DAY!!
Hi everyone! Today is the big day! Ever After (The Hollows #11) is out a whole month early for our reading pleasure. Since I pre-ordered the hardcover through Amazon, I actually received my book yesterday, which was pretty sweet! And while I can’t wait to read the final product, I have decided to repost my review of the ARC for this book that I read back in October. So yeah, I think it’s been long enough that is refresher is in order, not that I could forget much ~_^! I doubt my sentiments will change. Thank you all for voting on my poll from this weekend. The strength of ebooks is really telling, especially for a series that was established well before this format came to fruition! I myself prefer reading ebooks these days, but I started reading and collecting The Hollows in paper form and I own every hardcover since Book 5 (For a Few Demons More), so I think it only fitting that I collect them all. There are only TWO books left after all. I hope you all enjoy it. I guarantee most of you will, and I encourage you to share your thoughts! HAPPY HAPPY HOLLOWS DAY!!
Review: Ever After – Like the finest of wines, The Hollows gets better with age
As you can see, I present definitive proof that I’ve indeed read the book! And man oh man is it fantastic! It’s my new favorite! I normally worry about using that term too loosely because it could diminish the potential quality of the series as a whole, but I genuinely think it’s the best book thus far. Kim Harrison has done it yet again and all signs point to her doing it two more times, and in epic proportions.
This time the Ever After, home of the demons, is shrinking at an alarmingly fast rate, placing the existence of magic in a pretty vulnerable position; without one there couldn’t be the other. So as if our favorite itchy witch, Rachel Morgan, didn’t have enough problems, this just sprang up to #1. If she can’t solve this one, she won’t have any others. If she can’t fix it, the demons want her head as her botched leyline creation caused this mess in the first place. And no one wants to see that happen more than her old buddy, Ku’Sox, the former day walking demon who had the misfortune to cross Rachel and lose. He even resorts to abducting her friend and goddaughter as insurance…and boy is it effective. Thankfully she’s got Trent Kalamack and Algaliarept by her side to restore balance and take him down once and for all. But the price may be too high for things to ever be the same again.
I know there was criticism about not a lot happening in A Perfect Blood, though I personally enjoyed the old-school Hollows style mystery. But for those of you who didn’t, for EVER AFTER I think a better question is what didn’t happen! There was so much going on that I genuinely can’t recall a dull moment. I think I felt and continue to feel every emotion possible, but I ultimately finished the book in pure euphoria. In case you needed a little reminding, Harrison presents really harsh realities and difficult decisions that prove she’s an author with guts. I don’t think I’ve experienced so many pulse pounding moments since For a Few Demons More (book 5). This book left me reeling like no other.
The scenes that take place in the Ever-After were some of the best of the series. The race against the clock really made this book so intense. Learning the history of the demons and the elves and the eventual degradation of their relationship was great, though I would have loved even more insight. I just can’t get enough of it.
And that brings me to Big Al, who was totally amazing. Fans will absolutely adore him in this book as we learn more about his personal back story. He’s much more prominent here than in A Perfect Blood and that’s fine by me because he literally lights up the pages and keeps things exciting in his own peculiar way.
After having read Trent’s POV in the bonus chapter of A Perfect Blood, I saw everything he did in a whole new light, and boy was it refreshing. He’s got his own personal demons to work through and it really makes you feel for the guy. He is in a rock and a hard place, accepting his actions that have led to certain consequences while still working to find the best solution possible. I loved seeing him use more magic. I feel like elves have a pretty powerful arsenal that deserve more exploration, so it was nice to see Harrison skim the surface here with the insinuation of even greater things. Magic is amped up for the elves, while more human qualities are amped up for the demons, so it was an interesting trade off.
His teamwork with Rachel was one of my favorite parts of the book. The tension was insane and placed so well all throughout. It’s seriously amazing to go back and read passages from Dead Witch Walking and then look at them now. Their progress is usually one step forward, two steps back, but the slow burn for this ship is probably what will make it my all-time #1 favorite if they end up together *fingers crossed*.
This book was just about everything I could ask for, but it wasn’t 100% flawless. With so much ever after, elf and demon action, the story manages to throw in a smidgeon of development in vampire politics. Unfortunately it felt very much like an afterthought and briefly broke the overall flow. We know vampires won’t get a lot of focus until the final book 13, so 10 or so pages of development came off a random at best and forgettable at worst.
All in all, this is an absolute MUST READ for fans of the series. Since Black Magic Sanction and Pale Demon the series has been invigorated and manages to improve as we reach the final stretch. That is a rarity for 95% of series that make it this far. I think it helps a lot that Kim Harrison has an end in sight and continues to write towards that. Many others have jumped-the-shark by this point. The Hollows is absolutely revving up for a grande finale and I cannot wait to be there.
Poll: How will you be purchasing EVER AFTER (The Hollows #11) on or after this Tuesday?
It’s no secret that we’re all Hollows nuts around these parts. I’ve actually been noticing a bit of a calm before the storm when it comes to the interwebs. Though I didn’t have time to hold a proper giveaway (though I hope you’ll like the consolation prize), I am a little curious about evolving buying habits and want to know how you all plan to get your mits on your copy. I’ve been pre-ordering hardcovers since my closest bookstore closed down, and same day delivery means it works out pretty well.
This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress #5) by Jeaniene Frost - Better than the previous book
Though vampires are arguably at the top of the food chain, somehow they are turning up missing. It becomes doubly suspicious after rumors circulate about an impending ghoul/vampire war. It takes a ghoul to know a ghoul, and Cat and Bones will need to enlist help from the ghoul queen of New Orleans, but is she a friend or foe? There’s no real time to find out.
I am noticing a fairly bizarre pattern for myself with this series; I tend to enjoy the odd books much better than their even counterparts. Though I wasn’t completely on board with the premise this time around, I was much more engaged than during the prior installment. Unless I was just getting used to thing, I had noticed the amount of humor slipping a bit with this series. I can safely say that it was a bit more prominent this time, or at least it struck the right cord with me, which I hadn’t been experiencing for a little while.
Cat seems to be adjusting to her full vampire status better, along with some pretty cool upgrades, inadvertent as they may be. I am finding her slightly less annoying since the change. Bones had me laughing a couple of times too (poking fun at Twilight), but, again, Vlad Vlad Vlad steals the show for me. He probably has my favorite quote of the novel. It’s making me smirk just thinking about it:
“Premature inflammation! Very embarrassing, I don’t like to talk about it!”
It’s okay, Vlad. Happens to the best of us.
Even though I had a few laughs, overall this definitely is not the series at its best. The end was pretty predictable which cost it some points for me, but it sets up the future books to potentially be more interesting.
Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress #4) - Felt like filler
Cat and Bones have more than earned a vacation. Away from their tough jobs, away from the politics, away from danger. But while Paris starts off as the perfect getaway, peculiar dreams (or are they memories?) have been haunting Cat night after night. It turns out she may be married to Gregor, a powerful vampire, and has been since long before she met Bones. Hubby #1 wants his wife back. Needless to say, that doesn’t go over well with Cat or Bones, but Gregor’s power is greater than theirs combined.
The title says it all. This book felt like filler to me. The premise didn’t really lend itself well to future plot development, at least not in a sense that rings true. It technically does because there is a huge change, but I feel like practically anything could have spurred that major change along. I never felt like Cat and Bones’s’ relationship was truly threatened so there was no tension or suspense, just contrived melodrama. Just about everything is forgettable about this story save for the final 25%.
There is one plus, I think Vlad has emerged as my favorite character of this series. He’s witty, fun, badass, and overall a well-done interpretation of Dracula. It’s a difficult character to really harness and make unique, but I think Jeaniene Frost does a great job with him. It’s just never enough. But knowing he has his own spinoff, makes me feel much better.
Ever After Chapters 1-6! You want it, You got! And a note to followers…
It’s taking a slightly different approach than the usual Harper Voyager link, but it’s easy to access all the same to read chapter 3:
http://harpervoyagerbooks.com/2013/01/15/exclusive-chapter-three-of-kim-harrisons-ever-after-122/
Of course if you’d rather read through part of chapter 6, then by all means go here:
http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061957918
Enjoy!
P.S. And forgive me for being a little slow on the posts lately. Assassin’s Creed has pretty much occupied all of my free time! Ezio Auditore is just that amazing (and hott). And this is why I’m glad I’m not a big gamer. But I’ve finished his trilogy and things should return to normal soon (because I doubt Assassin’s Creed 3 will be as addictive)!
New Short Q&A with Kim Harrison
While the wait is probably getting even harder the closer Ever After’s release date becomes, Kim Harrison has provided a little insight about the series from here on out.
http://harpervoyagerbooks.com/2013/01/07/a-quick-qa-with-kim-harrison/
At Grave’s End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost - My favorite part actually WAS the end!
The saga continues with Cat, Bones and friends. Her usual methods of baiting vampy big bads are becoming increasingly ineffective as the community becomes privy to her many disguises. In addition, one of Bones’s many former conquests of the feminine persuasion happens to be up to no good, with vengeance and dangerous magic on her mind that are too much for even the most powerful vampire to take on alone. Loyalties are truly tested this time around and teamwork is the only way for everyone to make it out alive…or undead.
I didn’t enjoy the prior installment quite as much on a whole, but this one was a hit for me. New side characters are introduced and others fleshed out a bit more. I’m really looking forward to what Vlad can lend to the series in future novels. The others are sort of bland to me, but I think he has potential to be a real standout.
And while we’re on the subject of supporting characters, I am going to get on my soapbox for a little bit and rant about Cat’s comrade, Tate. He’s had it bad for her since she joined the team years ago. Cat does try and makes it very clear where she stands on the matter, but he just won’t give it up. I find this worse than a love triangle because it really is a dead end that we have to see play out in painful detail, making me wish I were somewhere else…ANYWHERE ELSE! Does he REALLY think he’s got a chance against Bones? I mean, REALLY?! It’s Bones! Forget it! Personality-wise, Cat isn’t that great anyway, so I don’t get his hang up. Bones is the only reason I invest at all in the Cat/Bones ship to be honest. But at least she actually gives him play. And when Cat describes Tate, it’s like…dude should be knee deep in poon. Sure, Bones may have slept with half the population by now, ruining them for all successors; I say this because practically ANY woman that’s come onto the scene, he’s been there and they want more. But I’m sure Tate is capable of wrangling up some for himself. It’s a big world! *Jumps off soapbox*
So anyway, I enjoyed the book minus a couple of hangups. The end was particularly strong with non-stop action and suspense. I’d say at this point that it’s my favorite of the series.
2012 Year in Review!! My top books and series of the year!
If you have any favorite reads for this year please share! 2012 has been quite a year for me. I’ve read some incredible books, some great books, some not so great books, some terrible books. But overall it contributed to read count of over 131 stories this year. It’s kind of funny because I feel like a slacker compared to some other Goodreads friends who I’ve seen read over 400+ books; one even read over 900. But good or bad, I’ll take it as a victory. Communiting to and from my job takes a good 2 hours of my day, which allows me to and dedicate most of that to reading. A broken iPod has helped quite a bit too, but Christmas kind of rectified that so I’ll have to see how my read count in 2013 compares. But in the meantime, I want to narrow things down and present my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal books of 2012.
1
Ever After ARC (The Hollows #11) by Kim Harrison
I debated listing this one because it technically doesn’t come out until 2013, but it rocked my personal socks this year, and I’m sure it will rock yours in January, so I’m going to list it.
2
All Dorina Basarab novels, including Fury’s Kiss by Karen Chance
Though I was fairly familiar with its original sister series, Cassandra “Cassie” Palmer, I was really surprised to find that I love this series infinitely more. It’s got all of the pluses, none of the annoyances. Dory is a riot, but she kicks ass too. It just pains me that it take 2 years between books.
3
Wicked as They Come (Blud #1) by Delilah S. Dawson
Early on in the year this was my favorite book. The world was new, interesting and exciting. And Criminy was awesome! I definitely can’t wait for the next book featuring him and Tish, but much like Karen Chance, this author alternates from book to book.
4
A Perfect Blood (The Hollows #10) by Kim Harrison
Yes, the Hollows takes two spots on my list. In addition to the Ever After ARC, with all of the different publications this year from Into the Woods to Blood Crime to Trouble on Reserve to Trent’s POV from the paperback of A Perfect Blood, two spots can’t be surprising. However, while good, this book wasn’t quite in the same class as Ever After, but I did love it. And like most Trenchers out there, Trent’s POV left me speechless! Oh and it’s also pretty awesome anytime I can meet Kim Harrison!
5
Kingmakers (Vampire Empire #3) by Susan and Clay Griffith
This was another fantastic finish to a wonderful trilogy. I was fortunate enough to read the ARC for this series and I loved it! If only there was more!
6
Dead Morning Sky (Experiment in Terror #3) by Karina Halle
I wanted scary and I got scary! Just a little more than I bargained for with the weird crap that was happening OFF the pages while reading it. And funny enough, there was no repeat of that peculiar activity after I was done. I have since stopped here, but there are definitely more books with Dex and Perry’s adventures. I plan to get to them after catching up with the Night Huntress series that I’m currently reading.
7
Ashes of Honor (October Daye #6) by Seanan McGuire
I read this book at a pretty difficult time. I started reading it and then I got my hands on the Ever After ARC. I was riding too much of a high for anything else to compare, including this. But in hindsight, this book rocks and I bet the next book will be my favorite of the series!
8
Tale of the Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater
I was gripped from beginning to end on this one. It’s not an easy read, and do not mistake this for a romance. It’s more like one of those train-wrecks that you can’t look away from. Unfortunately the sequel was nowhere near as good, but I hope this series continues eventually. I would love to read a third book if it could get back to the level of book 1.
9
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee
I have a bit of an aversion when it comes to the Young Adult genre, but this is an exception. I LOVED this book and I often find myself wondering how long it’d be until the second book is released. That’s definitely a sign of a book worthy of this list. Even better, it’s probably the best $0.99 I’ve spent on a book!
10
Love is Fear (Valerie Dearborn #2) by Caroline Hanson
Though this trilogy arc is complete, this book is probably my favorite of the three. I finished wanting more, more, MORE!
Honorable Mentions
Iced (Dani O’Malley #1) by Karen Marie Moning - I definitely didn’t inhale this one as fast as the original Fever novels, but it did leave an impression. Honestly though, I just want more Mac and Barrons!
At Grave’s End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost - The review is pending right now because I wanted to post this year in review first, but I did enjoy it the most of the three novels thusfar. This series isn’t really among my favorites, but it seems to be positioning itself in the tier of series that are right below my favorites. Not a bad place to be. There’s Bones to thank for that.
Fire Baptized (Habitat #1) by Kenya Wright - I inhaled this book as well. This fresh take on the urban fantasy genre was just what I needed at the time and unlike some series where the sequels don’t measure up, its sequel certainly did and I look forward to book 3!
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - I enjoyed this book quite a bit, as well as the movie. It presented a different take on the genre that I found refreshing.
A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1) by Pamela Palmer - an alternate Washington, DC gets some bonus points! This book introduced a pretty intriguing world. I read it in a day and enjoyed it, so that’s why it gets a mention. Just beware that this isn’t true romance. If you go in with those expectations you’ll likely be disappointed.
The Fire Lord’s Lover (The Elven Lords #1) by Kathryne Kennedy - I read this particular book in one day and I loved the world building and build up to the eventual romance. Unfortunately the sequels never really struck the same chord.
So all in all it’s been a good year! This blog has been good to me. YOU guys have been good to me. And I hope 2013 is even better!! The great thing about books is that there’s something for everybody. I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
Hollows Alert! Ever After Chapter 2!
Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a Happy Holiday Season! Kim Harrison has certainly tried to make it better for us by posting Chapter 2 of Ever After! If you were able to hold out from downloading it with a Fistful of Charms, you can now see it on her website. Just check it out here:
http://www.kimharrison.net/BookPages/EA/EA2.html
One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress #2)
It’s been four years since the events of Halfway to the Grave. Cat, has honed the skills Bones has taught her, working for a secret government agency as the head of a unit that hunts down troublesome undead. Her half-vampire heritage offers an invaluable benefit to the cause. But you don’t do what Cat does without making a few enemies. She’s now a target as someone has put a hit out on her. Her only hope is Bones, the vampire she left behind. Though he’s “dead” he’s the only one on this earth to make her feel alive, and those feelings come rushing back. But can she keep them at bay? Not if he has his way.
I am always a little concerned about ships when the characters get together off the bat because I feel they become stale. Even with the insta-love between these two, I thought the first book was exciting and fresh. But this one felt like more of the same. I liked Bones in book 1, but there wasn’t a lot of evolution here, so he came off as Gary-Stuish. And Cat, his Mary Sue. Unlike the first go ’round, I didn’t find the number of times one was jealous, insecure, or baiting vamps for slaughter to be nearly as amusing. And then Bones practically always had the answers to the problems so I just didn’t find him as intriguing and to be honest, his dialogue started to irritate me a bit with the “blokes”, “luvs”, “sods” etc. He’s over 200 so I wish he would have acquired vocabulary with more variety by now.
There was a fair bit of action and definitely some laughs, but Jeaniene Frost doesn’t include enough follow through after the build up. I feel like there’s this massive world with characters waiting to be explored, but we get less than I want to see in a read. I’m really big on supporting characters, yet I didn’t find myself attached to anyone here. Everything just kept working out a little too easily, so nothing was perilous, gripping, or gritty. I felt like it was basically all centered around when these two could get back to shagging.
And speaking of which, of course I can’t complete a review without my opinion on chapter 32. It’s pretty much the only thing I was asked about or told about, even during Book 1. To be honest, it wasn’t much to write home about for me. It wasn’t bad (none of her scenes are) but the hype surrounding it made my expectations too high, so an underwhelming result was inevitable. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly have my short list favorites in literature, but this is just not one of them. Sorry! *ducks from flying tomatoes*
Overall, it certainly wasn’t a bad read, but it just wasn’t as good as I was hoping it’d be. After the first book I thought it would practically inhale this one, reading it in no time, but that just wasn’t the case. There’s still Book 3 which I do plan to read, but that will be the final determinant of whether or not I plan to keep going with this series. Though I like to come to my own conclusions, I’ve heard that the earlier books are better so I don’t know how well that bodes for the rest.
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) - Finally taking the world of Cat and Bones for a spin again
For the record, I probably would have started this series a long time ago. It’s just that my first exposure to Jeaniene Frost’s writing included a spin-off book from this series that left a LOT to be desired. It took a while to build up the nerve to give her stuff another shot. But thankfully, this particular book has a more of what I’m looking for in an awesome vampire read. My experiences were like night and day!
This series follows Catherine Crawfield, a half-human/half-vampire who takes it upon herself to dole out vigilante justice against vampires with the hope to meet her vampire father and put him on the business end of her stake. She runs into the wrong (or right) vampire, Bones, who shows her that she is truly no match for what she’s up against. Being a vampire bounty hunter himself, he forces her into a partnership to take down fanged big bads together. And so begins the story of the beloved Cat and Bones team.
I thought this was a really good start to the series. Cat’s character starts out pretty self-righteous and angry, but she’s left questioning everything she believes in, which is good for character progression. I can see why Bones has a lot of fans. I found him very entertaining all throughout. I’m not an insta-love fan, and I do believe they get together a little too quickly here, but knowing that the whole series involves them allows me to be a little more accepting of the dynamics. It’s at least good to know that not everything will be easy for them. I do worry that they’ll become stale for me since I usually become more attached to ships with better build up, but I am keeping an open mind.
I laughed quite a bit at the countless euphemisms and innuendo. They were effective even when I was in a bad mood and placed well enough so as to not become annoying. The end really amped up the action which I totally loved. The carnage was awesome and I enjoyed seeing Cat and Bones as genuine badasses!
I purchased a copy of the book that contained bonus material with deleted scenes. A lot of it felt really repetitive to what I’d already read and only a couple of developments added to the story. The rest is forgettable, which is why it wasn’t included in the first place.
I definitely recommend at least giving this series a try. It’s not a favorite of mine quite yet, but I definitely will be reading the next one ASAP.
Fistful of Charms for $1.99 with an Excerpt of Ever After!
I heard this straight from the horses mouth on her blog today, but thanks to Jisha for the heads up as well! For the remainder of the holiday season, Book 4 will be offered for $1.99. Get it as a gift, or get it for yourself if you want to read the first TWO chapters of Ever After! Chapter 2 won’t be released until Christmas day, but if you just can’t wait, you can get it here.
Barnes and Noble (NOOK)
Amazon (Kindle)
Books-A-Million (Nook?)
Kobo (Download options: Adobe DRM EPUB)
iBookstore (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch)
Keep an eye out for additional excerpts here:http://harpervoyagerbooks.com/2012/12/17/excerpt-chapter-one-of-kim-harrisons-ever-after-jan-2013/
Follow YOUR URBAN FANTASY
Kathy Davie on 
ErikaT on 
