Catching Up:
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand + Kitty Raises Hell, by Carrie Vaughn
My rating: @@@

Apologies. Really should have written my wrap-up review as soon as I finished reading Kitty Raises Hell, if not Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand. So this may be a little thinner than usual ...

Here is what I can tell you. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand and Kitty Raises Hell are pretty much parts 1 and 2 of a story. I suspect this is why they were released so close together (February then March 2009). Both are quick and easy reads.

Carrie Vaughn's "Kitty" series books are not deep, but they're nowhere near the vapid fluff-level silliness of that Succubus in the City story I reviewed a few posts back. I'd call them more of an escapist light adventure for people with brains. She introduces a few new characters set against the backdrop of the surrealist Las Vegas strip. Throw in an attempted wedding, a gun show, a really old vampire and some politics and you have the storyline of these two books together.

I definitely did enjoy them. Will I remember the detail enough to be able to tell you what happened a year from now? Probably not.

But on a positive note, at least I'll be able to read them again if I'm so inclined!

Pick up Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand at Amazon.ca

Pick up Kitty Raises Hell at Amazon.ca

Book Review: White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

My rating: @@@

White Witch, Black Curse is the latest release out in the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison.  I just finished it over the weekend. 

If you’re already into the series, you’ll want to read it – like me – to see what happens next to some of your favourite characters.  Let me save you some of the suspense.  Rachel’s actions get her into further trouble. 

Best: Kisten’s murderer is revealed and that part of Rachel’s history is wrapped up.  It’s an emotional moment.  Worst: Rachel continues to do things which isolate her from the community around her and get her involved in things she probably shouldn’t get involved with.

Kim Harrison always spins a good tale.  I wasn’t bored.  But neither was I compelled to pick up the book and read it through in one sitting.  Maybe it was the book and maybe it was my headspace last week, but I suspect it was the book more than anything else.  IMO, Ms. Harrison is starting to lose the energy of the story line – something that often happens after the third or fourth book in a series.  Ivy is less compelling.  Jenks is dealing with the worsening health of his partner Matalina.  Rachel faces some mild sibling disapproval issues and the reality of her mother finally moving on – both emotionally and physically – after many years of mourning.  Al pops up and is entertaining.  There’s a banshee sub-plot that creates some tension.  And once again, Rachel makes some weird and vague emotional decisions when it comes to her love life – such as it is.

I’m really not sure where Harrison can or will go from here with these characters.  As far as I can tell, the next book will involve Rachel getting involved with a former ghost/witch/runner (sigh) and Jenks will probably have to lay the mother of his offspring to rest.  Ivy will do what Ivy does.  Maybe there will be more fun with Trent who was relatively absent from this book.  

I’m glad I read it because I’m already invested in these characters.  And it was well written.  It just didn’t grab me the way the earlier books in this series did.  Jenks’ insights rang a little hollow, and the consistent evidence of Rachel’s bad choices when it comes to her non-business relationships just kept being reinforced in a far too obvious way.

Sure, I’ll pick up the next book.  But maybe I’ll wait a bit longer after it comes out to get it … and maybe, just maybe, I’ll wait for the paperback edition.

Apparently I don't have a lot of time to read these days. Or, more to the point, read anything that isn't in magazine format and therefore bite-sized and bathroom-friendly.

Which doesn't mean that I don't have a shopping list. I do. I'm not sure when I'll get to pick them up, but I will. And hey, if you get to them before me, please drop back here and let me know what you think!

Books In Stores Now:

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn
Next book in the Vaughan's series about Kitty the werewolf. There is another one coming out in a couple of months, so I might just wait to pick them both up at the same time.

Outcast Season Book One Undone by Rachel Caine
This is the same author that contributed the Weather Warden series to my collection. I don't love all of her series - example: Morganville Vampires (the kind of heroine you want to shake) - but I'm willing to try this one out and see how I like it. Especially since I don't see another Weather Warden installment on the horizon any time soon.

Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
One of my favourite authors. Bitten is still one of my top 10 books on the I'm-out-of-new-books-what-can-I-read-now? list. Because of that, I want it. Will I get it in hardcover or wait until the paperback comes out? That I can't say - depends how desperate I get for something to read once I'm done with everything else. But whether it's the hardcover version (available now) or the paperback version (probably out in about a year), I'm sure I'll get it.

Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
I'm torn about this one. She is a great author. But much of this material was previously published online as a novella (although it's not up there anymore), and I read it back then. I might buy it anyway to support her, but ... maybe not right away. Sorry Kelley.

Books Out Soon:

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (due out February 13, 2009 on Indigo.ca and February 24, 2009 on Amazon.ca)
Well here is a surprise. I want the next book out in my favourite series, and I'm willing to buy it in hardcover to avoid having to wait. And it's being released at the end of the week -- woo hoo!!

Made to Be Brokenby Kelley Armstrong (due out February 24, 2009)
Finally! The next installment in the Exit Strategy series. I'm thinking I might need to re-read the first book in this as well in preparation. Always feel like I'm missing out on something when there is a lag of about a year between author releases. This series diverges from her Otherworld series, but I like it.

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn (due out March 1, 2009)
Clearly, there is a list of pre-orders in my immediate future. Follows on the last Kitty the werewolf book, above. This girl just doesn't catch a break ... but it does make for interesting reading!

Second Skin by Caitlin Kittredge (due out March 3, 2009)
The next book in the Luna Wilder, police detective/werewolf mystery series. Can't wait. I think I'll re-read the entire series in preparation for this next installment.

Dead And Gone
Charlaine Harris (due out May 5, 2009)
I'm almost afraid to include this on my list. The last few books in this series have been hit and miss. Plus I'm still cranky about the tv series True Blood. Does that mean I won't buy this latest book in the Sookie Stackhouse series? Probably not. Might I wait until it's out in paperback? I might well do that.

Speak of the Devil by Jenna Black (due out July 28, 2009)
Argh! I have to wait until the summer for the next installment in this series! No fair. Also no plotline spoilers out for it yet. Sigh. Patience patience ...

Books I'm Looking Forward To Reading:

Have not been reading much lately.

The good news is that this has also given some of my favourite authors a chance to release some books I haven't read yet!

Here's what I'm looking forward to between now and the beginning of August:


All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
Latest in the Sookie Stackhouse mystery series
release date: May 1, 2007

I'm leaning towards waiting until this either shows up at the library or comes out in paperback. It's one of my favourite series, but I wasn't wild about the last book in this collection. Will let you know how it goes once I've gotten through it.


No Humans Involved, by Kelley Armstrong
Part of the Women of the Otherworld series
release date: May 1, 2007

Her last book was good. I've requested it through the library, but I might buy this one if I've read my stack of unread stuff before it arrives. Ellena is still my favourite character, but it might be interesting to see what happens with Jaime ... and Jeremy ...


Demons are Forever, by Julie Kenner
Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series
release date: July 3, 2007

Ok, so it's "chick lit". So it's fluffy, a light read, not so much with the heavy emotions. And? Do we really have a problem with that? The first two were great: Carpe Demon, followed by California Demon. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a soccer mom. Absurd, right? And that's one of the things which makes it such great brain candy. I'm hoping this latest book rocks as hard as the other two.



The Harlequin, by Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake series
release date: June 5, 2007

I'm nervous about this one. I bought the last two - in hardcover, natch - and was so bored by the last one I literally started skimming it. Did I read the last three pages? Maybe; who can remember. It feels like Laurell K. Hamilton has run out of new ideas, innovative ways to push boundaries in her books. It's unfortunate.

But I'm still a fan, albeit a reluctant one at this point. I'll probably wait for it through the library system. Unless the reviews are really really good ...



Thin Air, by Rachel Caine
Weather Warden book 6
release date: August 7, 2007

Another fave series. It has moments where it borders on chick lit, but it's such an easy read with lots of action and layers of inter-connected relationships. The other five have been so consistently good that I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out.

More to come!