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 ...

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.

Recently Read ...

Firestorm, by Rachel Caine
It's the latest in the Weather Warden series. I clearly have a vested interest in this series, having bought and read all of the books. But as with all of the others, I inhaled this book as soon as I got it. Was I reading something else at the time? Who can remember! I believe I was but clearly it got tossed aside in favour of one of my favourite authors.

Do yourself a favour and read the whole series, starting from Ill Wind and working your way through until you hit this one. I've done it myself - more than once!