www.kelleyarmstrong.com

FrostBitten
Kelley Armstrong
Bantam Books, 2010 Mass Market Edition
Purchased, Borders $7.99 August 24, 2010
Read 8/28-8/30
10th in Women of the Underworld Series


Book Description from www.kelleyarmstrong.com/frostbitten/
The Alaskan wilderness is a harsh landscape in the best of conditions, but with a pack of rogue werewolves on the loose, it’s downright deadly.

Elena Michaels, the Pack’s chief enforcer, knows all too well the havoc “mutts” can wreak.

When word comes of a series of humans apparently killed by wolves near Anchorage, Elena and Clay are sent to check things out. But they find more than they bargained for among the snow and trees of the savage Alaskan wilderness.

I bought this as a paperback so at some point I could offer it as a prize in a contest (of course labeling it used).  I had recently read Waking the Witch and enjoyed it very much so I wanted to continue on in the series.  The series seems to range over a variety of characters with some narrators repeating further down the line. I picked out one that sounded the most interesting to me. The store did not have the first books in the series so I figured it did not matter.

One criticism I have to get off my chest.  Back-story: there is a lot of back-story here for which there is no explanation. If I had not read some of the other book descriptions I would have been up that creek without the proverbial paddle.  But, there are relationships that are not clear, Clay has a bad arm from something and it is a problem for him but there was no explanation I could find.  If a series is dependent on back-story I vote that the reader is told in the blurb. No if someone were only asking for my vote.

When the story opens Elena the world's only known female were wolf is chief enforcer or her pack.  Her mate, Clay is the Alpha's Bodyguard.  We know they are together and have twins and that the twins threw them selves out of 2nd story windows because that was how mommy and daddy do it.
Because of that right before a trip, the couple had to work in separate places. They end up meeting on the plane chasing a mutt to help him get out of danger and into a pack.  They are both werewolves.  He had been bitten as a child and he bit her.  Besides being a big, strong and violent guy he is a Professor of Anthropology.  Elena has worked as a journalist and it also supplies cover when necessary.Their job is to make sure that werewolves and other shifters remain a secret. 

Eventually they catch up to the kid, but that is the start of their real problems as they discover that there is more going on in and around Anchorage than they thought. Apparently vodka isn't the only thing Russia is exporting. Stopping the killings in Alaska, after they catch the mutt, is what they are there to do.

Elena was orphaned at five, and was adopted quickly and returned because she just wasn't quite what the family was expecting from a little blond girl. As she grew older the husbands were the parent picking the child. Several of the men abused her and those rapes are important to this story.  As the only living were female she attracts a lot of attention.  She is very strong physically and emotionally.  She is smart and thinks strategically and is slated to become the next pack alpha.

Her husband, Clay says he doesn't want to be alpha and that he won't have a hard time taking orders from her.  But culturally female werewolves are not valued by their culture which may mean Clay won;t have a hard time with it but over wolves might.. Clay is fiercely protective of what is his, very wolfish, a doting father. In other words he is not his job, he is uniquely himself.What bothers me about Clay and the story is the violence and torture resorted to in getting the answers they want.  He and Elena work very well together but she quails at the gratuitous violence that seems needed because they are werewolves and have to protect their pack and territory.  It seems as if this way of being is in the were DNA. But, torturing and then killing a member of this gang is just not something I like reading. He once committed a dissection of a rogue wolf (mutt) while the animal was still alive for its effect on his reputation. Although the mutt was anesthetized only a few people were aware of that.

The villains are less brilliant than the couple.  And less brilliant than the rest of the gang when they come in as reinforcements. They are stupid, violent, brutal, rapacious and greedy.  It's not a given that the couple or their friends will come out of the story physically or emotionally intact. It is nice not to know that going in as it make the read much more suspenseful. Even the supporting characters are well developed.

Pace wise, the book starts off at a run and continues at a rapid pace.  A fight here, an argument, sex, sex with mock fighting, killing, there is very little rest for the couple.  I was tired reading about how active they were.  The sex is fairly hot and often. I didn't think the descriptions of the intimate moments were  as hot as they could be; my toes were not curling as I read it.

I am very interested to see what happens as the  Alpha hand off gets underway.  It was going to take several years, and would not start until Clay and Elena's kids started first grade.  There is a lot of set up for the next development in this pact and you probably want to be there when it happens.

Due to the violence and intimacy, I would recommend this book to adults only.

TRUE BLOOD RECAPPAYING-IT-FORWARD

TRUE BLOOD RECAP, Episode 35, FRESH BLOOD

First, you may recall my little chart of dead characters last week (also crazy, retired and ?).  It is possible they saw it and came out with the following  or maybe it's that great minds think alike thing, or maybe it is just a coincidence, but here is a video memorial to dead characters:

In Memoriam

Now the recap - events in the order in which they occured:


Bill goes to Fangtasia because he felt Sookie's fear and anger. Pam refuses to tell him where Sookie is and they fight. She sprays him with vampire mace — colloidal silver.  Meanwhile, in the dungeon Yvetta is setting Sookie free, they run up stairs and chain Pam up with silver chains Sookie and BIll take off. 


At Lafayette's he and Jesus are discussing their magical mystery tour on V . Jesus wants to do it again to see his people. LaFayette tells him it is too soon. He turns back to Jesus and has a vision of him as what I can only imagine is a demon. Lafayette is pretty upset by the whole experience, the vision and Jesus pushing to stay over, he makes Jesus leave. 


Jason and Crystal are at Jason's.  He is upset because SOokie took off, Bill got mad at him, he told Tara about eggs and it turns out his girlfriend is a were-panther. They fight about her being a panther and him being an idiot. 


Hoyt and Jessica are making out at Bill's house after she gave him blood to heal his wounds from being attacked by Tommy in a dog form. He is feeling his oats. She  confesses to killing the trucker and he forgives her. She says
she cannot just live on True Blood, she tried, but she drinks from humans and it wasn't going to change.  Hoyt offers himself as a source and she (pun intended) bites. 


King Russell, still toting around Talbot in his decanter, meets Eric in a hallway at his manse.  Eric tells him why he killed Talbot; that it was revenge and that they were now even. Russell isn't buying it. He says something like: I have to lose the only man I ever loved because you miss your mommy and daddy? Eric suggests a trade, being able to go out in the sun, day walking, to the King and it will make him invulnerable. Eric tells the KIng he has nothing to lose because if he is wrong he can kill Eric tomorrow. Pam calls on his cell to tell Eric about Sookie and Bill escaping. 


Then,  Bill and Sookie are in her car.  She is driving.  Bill asks her why she went to Eric, she confesses that she feels something for him because of his deep feeling for Godric. They talk about starting over when "all this is over." To this I though,"What all this?! When are they going to not have "all this?"


We are taken to Tara at Eggs grave crying and then to Merlotte's.  Arlene is talking to the new waitress., the Wiccan, Holly, about getting rid of Rene's baby. A very drunk and stinky looking Sam blasts into the bar yelling at and insulting people. Terry comes out to try to settle him down and Same insults them, then Arlene and Holly. Holly and Arlene walk out. 



Jason is out looking for Sookie, although he seems to be doing so by calling her cell phone.  He stops at the the football field and sees the new hotshot quarterback drilling the team to exhaustion.  The kid's behavior makes Jason realize he is on V.


Hoyt's wanna-be girlfriend, Summer stops at Mrs. Fortenberry's house to tell her that she tried but she couldn't get Hoyt to fall in love with her, having even offered her virginity.  Mrs. Fortenberry the parish's most overbearing mother, tells the girl they aren't over trying to get him away from Jessica.

Back at the bar, Sam is working alone.  Tara comes in and he tells her that he could use help. SHe say that she can see that but isn 't working. She sits with Andy and her is automatically nervous, filling the space with chatter. She tells him she knows about Eggs and that he is a dirty cop covering up a murder. He asks what she is going to do and she says what can I do, and that she will miss him the rest of her life. He cries and says he wished he could do it over and that he had gotten the knife away from Eggs, but that Eggs was determined to be shot that night. You can see that information register with her. 


Sam throws an order pad to Tommy and tells him to wait tables. They argue and Sam fires him and tells him to get out.  Tommy looks contrite and says you are my brother but you are just like Joe-Lee. Sam kicks out all the customers. 


Back to Sookie and Bill in the car, they are talking about a normal life: he is a teach, she is a realtor, they have a garden. Sookie brakes suddenly on seeing the King and Eric in the middle of the  road. He flips the car so it is vertical. 


Then Holly and Arlene are in the woods.  She casts a circle and makes a decoction. Arlene will have to make and drink several times a day but if the spirit is meant to to be born there is nothing they can do. 

Jason is still at the football field.  e confronts the young quarterback (Kitch,  Ketch?) and tells him he knows about the V.  The kid tells him that his coach buys it, his parents pay for it. and the principal uses it for sex. Jason tells the kid that if he is on V that he won't really have broken his record.
Lafayette is at his place and is continuing  to hallucinate.  Now all his religious statuary is calling him to them.

The car with Sookie, BIll, the King and Eric arrives at Fangtasia.  Russell forces Sookie out the car and strong arms her across the lot.  Eric  "escorts" Bill.  Eric tells Bill to hit him as a distraction. THey fight and Russell goes in with Sookie.  Eric then reveals to Bill he has a plan to save Soookie and rid them selves of this evil, Nazi king.

 Sam and Tara are talking at the bar.  He says he has no friends but her, and that he is tired of being a doormat. They end up getting intimate while Tommy is cutting something, like the gas-line to Sam's trailer. 


Arlene is fishing in a dream scene with her hearing her mother in the woods. Terry is shaking her awake, They note she is bleeding. She tells Terry they  are losing the baby. 


Back at Jason's he apologizes to Crystal and that he loves her.  She says that nice but they have to go back to her home town and warn about the raid. She thinks her father will pull a Waco-style counter attack.


At Fangtasia, Eric is telling the King that drinking fairy blood will allow him the day time. Sookie says that she is not some kind of magic sunblock. The King acquiesces to try but Eric must go first. Bill cautions them noto drain her as she may the last of her kind. They do drink from her


At the hospital Arlene learns she has not miscarried and that the fetus is strong.


Back at Fangtasia, we see Pam begging Eric not to do it. He tells her h He tells her loves her more whe she is cold and heartless.  He goes out, Pam and the King watch on the security cameras as Bill begs them to allow him to feed Sookie. I don't know if it was real or meant as a distraction. The King goes out and is okay for a few minutes but then starts to burn.  Eric turns and is all blistery; he handcuffs the King to him. And says that they will die together. 
Fin.

REMINDER My current contest ends tomorrow(Tu 8/31).
Don't wait to enter!     
 
http://tinyurl.com/MY-FAVE-THINGS

PAYING-IT-FORWARD on Monday

Today as I try to give back some of the generosity I have experienced as a new blogger, I am featuring a well crafted blog with a lot of heart, Book Whispers (http://shera-bookwhispers.blogspot.com/):

Shera has been blogging for about eight months and says that besides reviewing books she also loves to post about cover-art, new books and tell us what books are being released each month. She also share herself with her Books and Babbles feature where she shares info on books movies and anything that strikes her fancy. Shera is using the Blogger platform modified to three columns in a high contrast white, green and black  color scheme with blue and purple lettering.  Folks can follow her through Twitter, Good Reads and Blogger. I have found her very serious about her blog.  She wants to have author interviews and is doing the groundwork for that right now. She is also looking forward to Giveaways. She says, "Of course I still want to help fellow readers find more good books, especially in the Urban Fantasy genre."

Shera describes her blog like this

Book Whispers is my safe little corner in cyberspace to share my obsession with books, specifically anything Fantasy. To be honest I have an all consuming passion for Urban Fantasy. When I first started in the genre Urban Fantasy wasn't a sub genre, and it was hard to find UF books. Because of this, I have a terrible need to make sure readers get the scoop on new and old treasures. I like to think my reviews honest, while still being nice! Adult and YA books are both reviewed, and I've been enjoying my introduction to Paranormal Romance.

I asked Shera some questions about herself and the blog.   

Steph: People always ask what my favorite book or character was, but how about recently what is your favorite book or book series?

Shera: Wow, this is always such a tough question for me. When I'm asked this question I usually try to avoid it at all cost, because I'd be there a while making lists. However, I'll try to contain myself and keep it simple.

Recently my favorite series are the Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong, Elemental Assassin books by Jennifer Estep, and Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman. (That's so painful stopping at only three.) 

Steph: What about it makes it your fave? 

Shera: Armstrong's fantastic world building and character depth is what makes me rave about her Darkest Powers series. It's always so hard to find realistic stories in YA, especially ones with realistic relationships. Specifically romantic relationships. Don't get me wrong this series is dark, mysterious, and action packed, but I'd be lying if I didn't say the love story is what really gets me.

Estep's debut novel, Spider's Bite, blew me away. Anything with assassins always floats my boat. But assassins with Elemental powers is just too good to be true! Flawlessly delivering on intriguing characters, fast action and heavy plots also made this a favorite for me. Estep created the ultimate kick ass heroine, which makes me have to share a quote from the review I did on the book:

“Estep really makes Gin a believable killer. She didn't wake up one day and say, “Hey I think I'd like to kill people, that's a good career path!” Tragic childhood events bring her to a point where becoming an assassin falls into place and helps her survive. Gin has even carved out the best  life she can manage being an assassin. Her handler and his son have become her family, and she tries to aspire to be a cook when she's not killing. Gin knew what she was doing was wrong and even refers to herself as a monster at points in the book. Gin does keep to a moral code and tries to only go after “bad” people. She even does some “pro-bono” work for some abused people.  

Confession time, I've only read one book in the Cal Leandros series. It's been at least 4-5 years since I've read it, and it's still fresh in my mind. Where to begin? This was one of the most interesting entries into the UF genre and still is. After reading it my mind kept going back to it week after week, waiting for the release of the next book was killing me. Finally when book two came out I rushed to the store and bought it. Sadly, I couldn't bring myself to read it. That meant I'd have to wait for the next book. It's a vicious circle, it really is.  There are five Cal Leandros books, one in her Trickster series and a stand alone later—I've bought them but can't bring myself to read them.

The positive side to my tragic tale is that everyone I've recommended the books to loves them. Some even turned out to be bigger fans than me! I've vowed this year that I would read every last Rob Thurman book on my shelves.

Steph: Who is your favorite character of recent times and what book are they in? What attracts you?

Shera: This might be tougher than choosing a favorite series, but after much deliberation Kitty Norville from the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn is my pick. So far I've only read up to book two, but Kitty left quite an impression.In book one, we're introduced to a very sad and fearful Kitty who's trying to cope with becoming a werewolf. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like a tale with a weak female lead, especially one who was a werewolf! Vaughn wastes no time getting Kitty on the road to recovery. Soon, timid Kitty turns into a lion, making Kitty's character growth one of the strongest stories I've had the pleasure of reading. Kitty not only changes her future, but single-handedly changes the world as well.

Steph: Have you held a contest? If you could win an expensive book you haven't read what would that be?

Shera: No I haven't held a contest yet, but I vowed to myself if I ever hit 100 followers I would. Hopefully that day is coming soon! One book that pops up is Ivy Cole and the Moon by Gina Farago. Once in the book store I saw it, but didn't have the money to buy it. When I finally got the money it wasn't there, and the book has been mocking me ever since.

Steph: E-reader or Die-hard with print?

Shera: Die-hard print. I know we need to go green (yada-yada), but I recycle like crazy and use things over and over. I'm green conscious enough to have the guilty-pleasure of “real books.” Maybe even if all my reasons are silly: 

Easier on the eyes.

It's not going to electrocute me in the tub.No nightmares about losing the files, or however the ebooks are saved.
Disturbing enough, real books smell better too. 

Steph: Tell us a bit about you:

Shera: My real name really is Shera. I've never met anyone else by that name, and it seems like no one else has either. Recently I've entered my twenties, and I'm really missing the ability to blame everything on teenage hormones.

This will be my first year going to college, and I am so excited to tackle Graphics Design.

Strangely, I didn't always enjoy reading. The only reason I read was to get good grades and to keep my ARR( Advanced Reading) reading points up and get prizes. It wasn't until my 5^th grade teacher realized the only books I ever took home were the Harry Potter books. By that time I had already reread the first three at least five times. From then on she made it her goal to buy books I would like and make the ARR tests for me so that I could continue getting good grades. Teachers really are amazing people. Without her I probably would have missed out on the joys of reading.

Shera loves dancing,  her cat-goddess, Yuki, and her other pets, and has a secret addiction to stuffed animals.

I am thrilled that I was able to feature Shera today.  I miss being able to blame everything on teen age hormones too but now I get to use the menopause hormone excuse. Oddly, (not) I would prefer using the teen aged one.

So, check out the site of one of our vocations new adventurers.  It will be worth your time. 

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Now for a blog that serves other bloggers as a resource: 

All Things Urban Fantasy is a regular book blog but also offers a feature called How I Blog

(linked to an example) that I have found useful on more than one occasion. How to find ARCs and the article on Windows Live Writer are proving very useful.  With nearly a thousand followers on GFC alone she doesn't need me to come-a-calling but I call often! 


 

In the Mist

Cover via Amazon

I am in the mist, as well as the midst, of a book, meaning I am intoxicated by and about halfway through  Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong. I read and reviewed her Waking the Witch last week and this has a bit more adult (erotic) material in it. It is also thrilling, romantic and suspenseful.  If it were a movie it would be Speed, Mission Impossible (w/o Tom Cruise, of whom I am not fond), Independence Day (w/o the aliens).  In other words it would be exciting. Who else is jealous that were creatures and other Supes can eat all the time? Maybe they could stop lording it over we poor mortals. The cover at right, by the way, is very different from the one on the paperback I bought.

I have had several long posts over the past couple of days, leaving me a bit scant today. I did find this article Books for 'Twilight' fans to check out while 'Breaking Dawn' is in the works - National Twilight | Examiner.

Karen Marie Moning has posted a schedule for her first FeverCon at her blog: http://www.karenmariemoning.blogspot.com/.  Are any of you readers going? I like the books but I don't know about a covention for them.  I am sure there are plenty of attendees and I hope it is a huge success!

Tomorrow a True Blood recap and Paying-it-Forward.

 This is the last weekend for the

 My Favorite Things Contest.
Enter here:

 http://tinyurl.com/MY-FAVE- THINGS

Something I Did Not Know About the Twilight SagaTaken by the Night Brotherhood of Blood Book Three

 Marcus = John = Todd = Christopher Heyerdahl

From Sanctuary, playing John Druitt aka Jack the Ripper

I was reading an interview between someone and Stephenie Meyer where one said they didn't realize Christopher Heyerdahl, who plays super creepy Marcus in New Moon (You already know what you are going to do Aro) was bald.  Well neither did I, but then I  realized that John, from Sanctuary = Marcus the Volturi from New Moon. I didn't realize he was the vampire/giant mosquito Wraith Todd (the "good" wraith)  either until I was reading his bio.

Then I was thinking, this guy is all about vampirism, Stargate's Wraith are sometimes referred to as vampire-like. They can remove the life essence of a person or they can return it. There is also a substance that, like mosquitoes, they inject into a victim when they feed that causes a metamorphosis of the person.
Druit and Mangus and Tesla become who they are because of vampire blood they consumed 158 years ago. So, what is it about Heyerdahl and vampires, Hmmm??? Blood aside, he does appear to have had parts in many fantasy and Sci-Fi movies. He is 6'4" so it may have to do with his height and with his striking features, as well as his talent. Perhaps he just likes speculative fiction and entertainment.

  From Stargate Atlantis, playing Wraith Todd

And, as Marcus - the really creepy Volturi

This is the last weekend for the
 My Favorite Things Contest.  
 Good stuff free: 
http://tinyurl.com/MY-FAVE- THINGS
 

Taken by the Night: Brotherhood of Blood
Kathryn Smith
Kindle Edition, purchased
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 318 KB
Print Length: 384 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books (October 30, 2007)
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers

Marketing Copy
I enjoy carnal pleasures like any mortal man, but six hundred years of existence have taught me loss. Best to stay away from people and save myself the heartache. Then I arrive at the notorious London brothel Maison Rouge, and my life, such as it is, will never be the same again.


Ivy Dearing, daughter of the infamous Madam, has requested my assistance. Two of her friends have been murdered, and she is determined to find their killer. I know better than to agree to help, yet Ivy is impossible to resist. No stranger to vampires, she has awakened desires within me that are as potent as my thirst for blood—desires that can only be satisfied by Ivy herself. But when there is another murder, it is all I can do to protect the woman I love from an evil more powerful than the undead . . .

This is the third book in this series by Smith.   The first, Be Mine Tonight was very emotional. The second, Night of the Huntress was more violent.  Both had intimacy, but the intimacy reflected the rest of the book.  Taken by the Night was more sensual, and was more of a thriller.  I don't know why the blurb calls the "madame" infamous.  "Infamy" is generally a pejorative, but Maison Rouge was actually founded by the Brotherhood as a safe house. The girls were clean and educated and people in the arts visited it as a salon as well as a brothel. If I were Ms. Smith, I would be having a chat with the marketing department.  I enjoy these books, but not in the can't put it down must buy the next way my favorite series involve me.

The brotherhood is a group of six-hundred year-old vampires who were turned upon discovery of and drinking from the false Grail, created from the silver that Lillith, the mother of all vampires (in this world) was distilled into.

The plot here revolves around a series of Jack the Ripper type murders being perpetrated on the girls of this brothel or other women with an association to it, by a ritualistic cult. Apparently, the attacks of a dozen years earlier were the work of the same group. Jack the Ripper was in 1888 so this puts at the turn of the last century. Believe it or not, this was a time of moral upheaval as science and religion clashed on a very deep level. It was the birth of the modern era. Many modern conveniences had been invented and indeed the brothel itself boasts "showerbaths" and electricity. The heroine here, Ivy is the brothel owner's daughter (also the illegitimate daughter of a Baron), and she is not a demimondaine, but nor is she a virgin. She is privileged in material wealth and education but she lacks the true respectability of society first as illegitimate and secondly as the daughter of a madame. No matter how respectable a brothel was, it was still a house of prostitution which will never, I don't believe, be considered a profession within the confines of society.

In the first book, the heroine is freed from social confines by the fact that she is dying of cancer; in the second she is only half human, and a vampire huntress and thus is rejected by and rejects, in turn, social convention.

And, here, Ivy's association with a brothel, even as the daughter of the madame, frees her from any vestige of social constraint. She would be as much rejected in the world of conventional society as she has rejected it. It has turned her into, if not a libertine, then at least a free woman.

Smith's description of this world and of Ivy helps me see Ivy as very pre-Raphalite. Smith engages Ivy in the period's penchant for dressing people as historical or mythical persons in a dramatic way. I can only believe the periods legendary actresses were part of this movement.

A member of the brotherhood, Saint, happened to need the safe house and the daughter of the Madame and he are at odds over his searching for the murderer  It is dawn when he arrives after an arduous period, apparently, and he must get to the special, lightproof room. She feels dismissed and is angry but since she has had a crush on Saint since she was a young girl that anger soon turns to attraction for both.  Resisting this attraction is a large part of the book and it is not until about half-way through that they stop arguing about having sex and start having it. This is actually one of the better books in terms of erotic description that I had read  in the three books. In the first the intimacy was as anemic as the girls blood; in the second it wasn't terribly memorable, but here, it is toe-curling. After all, Ivy is not a virgin and she grew up in a brothel; being "missish" wouldn't do.

Saint is a bit of a black sheep in the brotherhood, a sexy black sheep though.  He is tolerant and accepting as well as patient.  Being a vampire for 600 years has given him perspective, except in matters of love. He struggles against his attraction to Ivy partly out of respect for her mother who is his friend, partly because he doesn't want to break Ivy's heart, and partly because he has some baggage from past relationship.  He also knows that he can't give her a home and family as a human male can. In the end, the attraction and Ivy's will are too strong and any resistance is done away with by an explosive chemistry.

Lady Lillith, by Collier, top, and Rosetti, bottom

Of course there is more murder and mayhem to be had, including the death of one of the girls in the brothel itself which worries Saint in the extreme as he feels it his responsibility in failing to protect the house. All of the girls are in danger and both Saint and Ivy are betrayed --  by people Ivy believes she can trust. Of course love prevails in the end.  Saint receives a message sending the pair off on their next adventure where the entire brotherhood and their soul mates (who they appear to be finding concurrent with each other) are to meet.

I am intrigued by Ms. Smith's combination of the Grail search and legend with the mythology around Lilith.  I had never heard of a purposefully wrought false Grail.  I had read of  items being mistaken for a grail, occasionally causing the downfall of the finder.  And, I was unable to find a link between the Grail which was supposed to be the chalice used at the Last Supper and the Summerian/Hebrew Lilith or the first-wife-of-Adam-Lilith. If I review the next book I may write to Ms. Smith about it to learn where she got the idea.  In this genre it strikes me as unique in explanation of origin at least to my limited knowledge.

There is a bit of drag in the third quarter of the book, a few fights between the couple as Ivy struggles against her modern sensibilities of sex for its own sake and the realization that she is falling in love with Saint. Saint wants a full commitment from her even thinking it may bring him grief. The ending is somewhat predictable, but the read is a good one.  We are treated to a period romance without the drag of period language, and to a romance between two sexy and likable characters. I enjoyed it on several levels so perhaps you will as well.

Clips and Preview From True Blood 35, Friday means Hop, Follow and Fill!

CONTEST INFORMATION!

Wow, I am almost to 300 followers! But, I really wanted to have a contest to share a Lia Sophia necklace and two books: Saberhagan's New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Seance for a Vampire, and a copy of the super hot, read-it -with-the-one-you-love Captured by my friend Julia Rachel Barrett. Ends 8/31

http://tinyurl.com/MY-FAVE-THINGS

Opportunities for extra entries but otherwise you only need to be a follower. What are you waiting for???????

Today is hop day, The Book Bloggers Hop at Crazy For Books, the Friday Follow at Parajunkee's View.

And, I thought I would do this Friday Fill in Meme from the Friday Fill In Blog. 

The idea was one I found on the Ninja Librarian blog. And...here we go! 

My responses are in bold and italicized .

1. You do your thing; I do mine and sometimes they are the same thing.

2. Pilates is what's been on my mind on and off all day.

3. Remember when there was no internet, no pc, and a computer that did what your desktop can do was housed in a building that took up an entire city block?

4.Cats, food, and reading  are three of my favorite obsessions :-)

5. During the last year I got a year older (I am turning fifty and it is one of my least favorite obsessions).

6. Not much puts a smile on my face. I am turning fifty :-(

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner, tomorrow my plans include the farmer's market and Sunday, I want to go someplace fun!

I also wanted to share video previews and clips from the upcoming penultimate season's episode of True Blood. In the first, Eric and King Russell have a little chat.

Ep. 35: Clip - Eric confronts Russell

In this clip Jason proves he is not a sensitive New Age guy.

Ep. 35: Clip - Jason & Crystal have a serious talk

In this clip Sam proves that even nice guys can turn into total A**Hats when they have spent a couple of days drinking and reliving their sordid pasts.

Ep. 35: Clip - Sam barges into Merlotte's

And, if you haven't seen it yet this is the preview for the episode.  It would appear Sookie is in some sort of trouble and Tara has gone from obnoxious door mat to obnoxious woman with an attitude. Did she miss the he-was-going-after-the-sheriff-with-a-knife part?  And, she was so messed up over him that she slept with Franklin straight away  — that's true love.  

Ep. 35: Fresh Blood - Preview

Read and Reading Mercy Thompson, J.R. RainTrue Blood Ending Leaks Vampires and the Mob

READ AND READING

Over the weekend and this week I read Books 3 and 4 in Patricia Briggs Mecedes Thompson Series, Iron Kissed and Bone Crossed.  In Iron Kissed, Mercy's former Boss, mentor, and friend, Zee is set up to cover a human's crime of killing another human.  Of course, she puts herself at great personal risk and truly suffers greatly, she is also attacked by really icky fae. And, she finally makes a choice between Sam and Adam. And, in Bone Crossed, she is labeled an enemy of vampires and is coerced into the lair of a really nasty creature while trying to learn about some ghost living at the house of an old friend from school in another town.

I always think the heroine I am currently reading is my favorite But among them all I think Mercy is in the top four, maybe three, if not the favorite.  I love that she does the right thing even at her own expense. She is vulnerable, but she is also strong and clever.  She knows her weakness points and is learning her strengths.  Because she knows her weaker areas she almost turns them to her advantage. Like the coyote she turns into she is clever, she is comfortable alone, and in the guise of perhaps feminist independence, she bucks authority like crazy. Her loyalty is deep and while it is a strength it leaves her open and vulnerable. The strength of the wolf packs she has been part of, is a great boon and one she doesn't take lightly. I cannot, cannot wait for the next book, River Marked due out 1/25/2011.

I do enjoy Briggs writing.  Her prose is lovely, her world is well made, and she doesn't make huge grammar, spelling and word choice errors. I suspect that she actually proofs her work well and then sends it out. 

I love these books; I have not read one of the five that has not been  a cover-to-cover adventure that I could not put down. I am looking forward to the romance getting deeper and heavier as I know that any man, or wolf with Mercy will make sparks fly!


MOON DANCE
by J.R. Rain

I thought this book was pretty well written for the series, right up to the end. We start off with a woman folding laundry when UPS delivers a mysterious medallion. It is a medallion the creature that turned her into a vampire wore, but she has no idea why it's sent to her. A former federal agent until she was attacked and turned, Samantha Moon is now a nights only Private Detective. Her current client is an attorney who was attacked but survived.  How he survived the injuries which would have killed anyone else is a huge mystery. And one she has to solve before she is also a target.  In the meantime, trying to be the best mother she can she realizes her marriage is falling apart.  Her husband who was at first supportive is now a schmuck getting some on the side. She repulses him. A third character, Fang, with whom she chats on the internet is an unknown I suspect of being her client. Samantha is complex and has depth.  Her husband and children don't really.  They are pretty generation. The police detective she is befriended by and her client are a bit better developed and quite different from each other.  As she and one of these other characters fall  in love, she learns she is being attacked by a vampire hunter and uses her supernatural abilities to make sure he is out of the picture.

The end, well the end is an afterthought.  It seems like the writer got sick of the story and ended it generically. If I had a scale that would pull the whole thing down.The bottom line: a decent start and middle but an abrupt an unbelieved ending with a mystery character.

Currently I am Reading Taken by the Night from the Brotherhood of  Blood by Kathryn Smith.


VIDEO: TRUE BLOOD LEAKS

Video where Denis O'Hare explains the last two episodes of TB and his role in the Rolling Stones cover.

 

Video Link if above doesn't work: http://www.eonline.com/videos/v57190_watch-with-kristin-denis-ohare.html


VAMPIRES AND THE MOB
There's a new show in town, or, rather, online. Vampire Mob, a cross between the Munsters,  the Sopranos, and an episode of Dateline. The first two episodes currently online at http://www.vampiremob.com/.  The episodes are about 7 minutes long.

Don Grigioni,, played by John Colella, is a hit man, recently also became a vampire. Now he can combine work and "grocery shopping." Evident as he carries two large glass containers into a "job" empty and back filled with whatever stands in for blood on TV these days.

John's wife, who he turned because he got hungry, has just turned her mom, and now Mom is moving in. The first episode is definitely low budget. Held up against a major TV production like True Blood it doesn't look at all professional. But, it isn't fair to hold it up against a TV production like that because it is not one and because this is a new form of entertainment still finding its feet.

The shows is supposed to be filmed by Don's nephew Mikey as its explanation for the sound and cinematography. Don's relationship with Annie, is less stable than that of Tony and Carmella on the Sopranos. Annie is played by Reamy Hall. There is more room in Annie's character to be complex.  Don is pretty much tied to his role's mob character.

The second episode was being held until the first was viewed 5,000 times but is now available.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Vampire Mob Combines the Mythology With The Sopranos (newteevee.com)
• Watch Episode # 1 Of The New Web Series 'VAMPIRE MOB' (geektyrant.com)

True Blood White Wedding! Breaking Dawn: Is Rio a No Go? Hunger Games Trilogy: Questioning the Violence

Nice Day for a White Wedding for True Blood Stars!

Splash News Online

Some photos of Anna  Paquin and Stephen Moyer's wedding in a grassy vacant lot in Malibu last weekend. They are grainy and the Pacific Coast News Online only allows a link, so you will have to click to see them. Actually they look like paparazzi shots.   Obviously the couple were pretty casual in their arrangements, but Anna seems to have worn a nice white halter style gown and super-high black "court" shoes.

With his new wife reportedly cheering him on, Moyer and friends apparently jumped into the ocean after the ceremony (USMagazine.com)! 

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Breaking Dawn to Scrap Rio Shoot because of Shooting in Rio?
Reported by Shelf Awareness today, troubles with violence in Rio have possibly ended plans for shooting scenes there. Brazil is apparently working to convince Summit not to pull plans for shooting there; but would you want to risk your valuable commodities actors to violence?
 Movies: Trouble on Location for Breaking Dawn 

 



Is Suzanne Collins Hunger Games Trilogy Really Suitable for Youth?
And, speaking of violence, Sheryl Cotleur, an adult book buyer for Book Passages an established Literary Services and Book Store in California's Bay Area, is questioning the Hunger Games Trilogy as YA literature. Her article may have convinced me not to read this gore fest.  Hunger Games Trilogy: Questioning the Violence

Do you like the related articles service I have been using? Is it fun, helpful, obnoxious -- what are your thoughts?

Related articles by Zemanta

• It's the FANS that made the Hunger Games experience truly special (onourmindsatscholastic.blogspot.com)
• 5 Questions with Suzanne Collins: author of the Hunger Games trilogy (onourmindsatscholastic.blogspot.com)
• "The Los Angeles Times releases the first review of Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay, the conclusion to The Hunger Games trilogy, due out tomorrow:" and related posts (mayareynoldswriter.blogspot.com)
• 'Mockingjay' debuts, ending the 'Hunger Games' trilogy (seattlepi.com)
• 'Mockingjay' Review Roundup (huffingtonpost.com)
• 'Mockingjay': The Hunger Games Finale Review Revue (blogs.wsj.com)

Supplemental Post - Twilight Saga New Paying It Forward Page

I don't like to post too much and bore anyone, but I had a bunch of stuff come up on Twilighters.org that I thought might interest someone:

TWILIGHT SAGA
First up is and interesting post for anyone who worries whether Bella is a feminist. I don't know if it is right; just thought it was worth a peek: Bella's Political Agenda?

For some reason I thought casting was complete for the Breaking Dawn films. But here is some news I wasn't expecting to see. Looking for an acting job?  Heres how to get one! Casting Director Update

I made a page for my Paying it Forward Feature. I want to help other book bloggers and applaud our efforts.  If you are interested in being featured on my blog please check out this page: Paying It Forward

If you haven't entered my contest what are you waiting for?
Here is the scoop: http://tinyurl.com/MY-FAVE-THINGS

Taken by Midnight Out Soon! Burn the Witch True Blood in Sixty Seconds

Have You entered MY FAVORITE THINGS Giveaway yet?
http://tinyurl.com/MY-FAVE-THINGS

TAKEN BY MIDNIGHT 
by LARA ADRIAN

Some of the first really hot vampire or paranormal books I read were in the Midnight Breed Series by Laura Adrian.  Hot guys with some very amazing abilities for toe-curling, blush-inducing reads.  The books are also  suspenseful, adventurous, heroic and these feline vampires exhibit Jack-Bauer-like, do-the-right-thing-edness, but with more mad skills than Jack ever dreamed of having. These are the good guys, really, really good.  And, of course there are bad guys making it all interesting. Of course the women are all brilliant and gorgeous (just like you and I). Dang, wish I had an ARC.

Pre-ordering now­­­­­­ ­—In stores 9/28!!!
 ­

Story Summary:
At the crossroads of death and desire, a woman tastes a pleasure no mortal is meant to survive . . .
In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand--and control--a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal . . . and arouse.

As she recovers under Brock's care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order's mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and its army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of their resolve, a purely physical relationship without strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself--until a secret from Brock's past and Jenna's own mortality challenges their forbidden love to the ultimate trial by fire. http://www.laraadrian.com/home.php#quiet



BURN THE WITCH
Even if you haven't been alive as long as I have, you've probably heard about Monty Python's Flying Circus. Now, those gents were not Normal but I don't think they were Paranormal. But, this clip from, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is about witch burnings. Is it just funny or is it Social Commentary????





Today I went into Borders where there were simply MOUNTAINS of Mockingjay. But I snagged the last copy of the TB Rolling Stone. No, they didn't have any out back, I was told. I am concluding that this issue is a collector's item now. I got it for the article

And this is shared from the Huffington Post.

Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong

Purchased August 8, 2010

Read 8/23 & 24

Kindle Edition

File Size: 448 KB

Print Length: 320 pages

Publisher: DUTTON ADULT (July 27, 2010)

Sold by: Penguin Publishing

This is book eleven in the Otherworld Series.

US Cover

Canadian Cover

UK Cove

Waking the Witch

The orphaned daughter of a sorcerer and a half-demon, Savannah is a terrifyingly powerful young witch who has never been able to resist the chance to throw her magical weight around. But at 21 she knows she needs to grow up and prove to her guardians, Paige and Lucas, that she can be a responsible member of their supernatural detective agency. So she jumps at the chance to fly solo, investigating the mysterious deaths of three young women in a nearby factory town as a favour to one of the agency’s associates. At first glance, the murders look garden-variety human, but on closer inspection signs point to otherworldly stakes.

Soon Savannah is in over her head. She’s run off the road and nearly killed, haunted by a mystery stalker, and freaked out when the brother of one of the dead women is murdered when he tries to investigate the crime. To complicate things, something weird is happening to her powers. Pitted against shamans, demons, a voodoo-inflected cult and garden-variety goons, Savannah has to fight to ensure her first case isn’t her last. And she also has to ask for help, perhaps the hardest lesson she’s ever had to learn.

Savannah is sassy, maybe a little arrogant, young, powerful, headstrong, makes mistakes and feels remorse, is really good at her job, knows how to protect herself physically and magically. She is all these things but her youth and her headstrong attitude are her Achilles's heel.  Having worked in her guardians' shadow since she was a minor, Savannah is ready to break out on her own, and the opportunity presents itself when her friend, co-worker and major crush Adam's pal Jesse comes around to get help with a case with occult overtones in a town nearby.  Is she in over her head?  Not at first but complications develop when another investigator gets under her skin (in a good way) and when it turns our the town has some other magic going on.

In this book the best developed character is Savannah.  What I liked about her was her strength and her soft spots.  Sometimes she underestimates her strength, and other times she is over confident. She is vulnerable to kids with crappy or neglectful parents because of her past. She thinks she is more mature than she is and makes some rash decisions that backfire on her. She thinks she has it all figured out, and that  she is over Adam's indifference to her as a woman.  She thinks she has the people she interviews all sussed out, but they keep surprising her. Written in the first person, we see others through Savannah's lens. The daughter of one of the victims in this mystery, Kayla, comes across as a vulnerable Savannah-without-the-magic. Michael Kennedy,  police detective brother of one of the other victims comes to her as a romantic replacement for Adam and she sizes the Michael up against him. It is clear there are no substitutions for Adam in her heart.  Savannah lives in a Savannah-centric world; super-gifted, well-off, fearless.  But of course she isn't all grown-up and her foibles put her and others at risk, when the worst happens, she blames herself. 

Armstrong keeps the pace of the book going from the start. The action starts within the first five pages, and really keeps going except for when the girl is eating or sleeping.  The story has lots of twists and turns as well as a few red herrings. Why was the high-school teacher introduced? Could he be the perp? How about the chief of police? The Waitress, Lorraine? And, the solution to this mystery is as complex as Savannah's personality.  I don't know whether I have ever read such a complex ending to a mystery. The question is whether Savannah and her pals can survive what happens.  Your will hope they do because you will want more of Savannah and Adam in future books.
Not much in the way of romantic heat, but Ms. Armstrong can make necking pretty hot. The real action here is in the plot.  I highly recommend Waking the Witch.

Note: this is book eleven in this series, but even without prior knowledge it is pretty easy to follow. Armstrong's web site offers a character guide and a guide to the demon-world.  Also, this is the first book with Savannah as the narrator, so it would naturally stand up on its own.

Ms. Armstrong has three kids and lives in Ontario, Canada. She received a degree in Psychology and then studied computer programming. Having been a programmer myself (before Windows was a glimmer in Bill Gates eye) I can tell you that programming prepares one for endless writing and rewriting. Currently Ms. Armstrong writes and parents full-time.