Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. More than a year. How does that happen? What have I been doing from May of 2007 until July 2008? How does a person lose a year in the blogosphere? It's not like I haven't been reading. Really.

I can tell you that I read each and every one of those books from my May 2007 post.

All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
This is, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), a somewhat consistent type of book for Ms. Harris. I love her books. I have worked my way through all of her series. However, I have noticed that by the 4th or 5th book she seems to lose steam a bit. The writing is still good but somehow the storyline lacks ... something.

All Together Dead is no exception. In fact, I'd say it's the weakest book in the entire series.

But hey, on a positive note, in the time it has taken me to do this review the book has come out in paperback and is probably widely available through the library. ;-)

My rating: @@


No Humans Involved, by Kelley Armstrong
Now this book was MUCH better than the previous one I reviewed, above. Armstrong is a consistently strong writer and this book was no exception. There wasn't quite as much of the interpersonal, bittersweet angst that we find in some of her other books; it was also a bit darker than some of the other installments in the Women of the Otherworld series.

Have I read it more than once? No. Will I get around to re-reading it sooner or later? Possibly.

My rating: @@@


Demons Are Forever, by Julie Kenner
It's fluff. It's chick lit. It's marketed towards those Buffy (BtVS) fans who have (or are) grown up and living in the suburbs but are still thinking of adventures gone by.

With that disclaimer and attempt at literary superiority in place, here is the truth of it: I really like this series. It's part guilty pleasure and part ... nope, it's pretty much a guilty pleasure. But at least it's well-written if a little under-challenging. Works for the beach, on vacation, on a plane and even bathroom reading. Anywhere you can pick it up and put it down again without making a huge emotional or mental investment.

My rating for this book is allowing full appreciation for what it is.

My rating: @@@


The Harlequin, by Laurell K. Hamilton
Unfortunately, I just don't remember what I thought of this book. I remember it being better than the previous book, but past that ... it just didn't make much of an impression. Based on that ...

My rating: @@


Thin Air, by Rachel Caine
Such a good series. You have the romance, you have the angst, you have internal and external conflict -- and you have a female lead who kicks butt.

Don't start with this book, but do pick up this series. It's just so satisfying.

My rating: @@@@


There. It may not totally make up for vanishing for a year there, but at least it's a start.

Lists ...

Looking for something genre-related to read? What follows are a few of my favourite books ... in no particular order ...:

1. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
2. My Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
3. Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
4. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
5. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It's my favourite.

My Silver Metal Lover is a stand-alone, although a sort-of sequel was released several years after this one.

Burnt Offerings is somewhere in the middle of the Anita Blake series. They're all good up to Narcissus in Chains; after that, they started losing their focus to become more of a crazy mass sex partner plus ick factor storyline and less of a kick-ass detective story line.

Dead Until Dark is the first of the Sookie Stackhouse supernatural mysteries. One of my favourite series - an easy, light read with a sense of humour. The later books seem to be losing their freshness a bit, but the first four are great and even the ones after that are readable.

Dead Witch Walking is the first in the Rachel Morgan series. I've really enjoyed every book in this series -- it isn't waning for me at all. The only one I wasn't crazy about was A Fistful of Charms ... but even that was well-written. It was just some elements of the subject matter that annoyed me.