The Last Apprentice: Attack of the Fiend by Joseph Delaney (5/5 stars)

This is the 4th book in the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. Wow was this an excellent book!

After hearing over and over about how bad things are in Pindle; Tom and the Spook are finally going to go there to deal with the witch problem for good. Alice is along to help them, using all her witchy knowledge for good. Nothing goes as planned though when the witches strike first at the place Tom is most vulnerable. Will they be able to root out all the witches? Will the witches raise the devil himself? What is in the trunks Mam left Tom? Exactly who is Mam? All of these questions are answered to some extent.

This was a wonderfully written book; as usual. It may be one of the best books in this series yet. It is very suspenseful and spooky, there is lots of action (more than usual). Alice's character is being developed nicely and Tom really comes into his own in this book. We get to meet more of Tom's brothers; and the future looks bleaker than ever. This is the first book where the greater outside world really starts to have an influence on what is happening to Tom. Usually the books are pretty isolated to a small area, but not this one, things are more dire than ever.

It was just a great book. I was disappointed when I was finished. These are so fun to read and so well written. I love them and cannot wait to get my hands on the next one!

Mona Lisa Craving by Sunny (3/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Children of the Moon series by Sunny. It was okay, nothing special. In fact I think I liked the second book a bit more.

In this book Mona Lisa continues the mindless wandering of the second book. She ends up kidnapped and this circumstance winds up leading to a number of interesting consequences. That is really all I can say without giving away some major plot points of the book.

Initially it appears that Halcyon is going to feature prominently in this book, which made me very excited. Unfortunately he is quickly dropped to the background. Amber is also scarce in this book. The man who dominates this book is called Dante, he is a rogue whom Mona Lisa meets when she is kidnapped. Having the characters past lives affect their actions was interesting. Unfortunately given the path of events in this book I am not really sure what the point of this book was. I thought things were being set up for some very interesting events to occur in future books, then all of that setup was dashed to bits at the end of the book.

There was a lot of sex again, although I do feel that this book had more action than some of the previous books. Normally I would like the additional action scenes, but for some reason they didn't add much to the story. I didn't really like any of the new character additions either. I did like the inclusion of demon nature into Mona Lisa's character. Hopefully that will be expanded on in the next book. As I said, this wasn't a horrible book, just not great. Once again it was a very quick read, only took me a few hours to read it. Hopefully the next book will have a more cohesive plot and delve into some more interesting things about Mona Lisa's demon part.

The Touch of Twilight (Third Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson (4/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Sign of the Zodiac series by Vicki Pettersson. This book was a strong addition to the series, a lot happens, and many things from the last book are resolved.

In this book Joanna Archer is struggling with a number of things; one of the Shadow Agents (under cover as Rose) has her sights set on Joanna's childhood sweetheart Ben, Joanna is being hunted by a mysterious doppleganger, something has happened to the changeling that protects Joanna, the Tulpa is still trying to woe Joanna to the "darkside", and on top of all this the third sign of the Zodiac is imminent. Of course there is also the issue of Joanna's daughter, Joanna's lack of a relationship with Hunter, and Joanna's missing mother. When you take it all in, there is a lot going on in this book.

For the most part it was a very good book and I enjoyed it. I loved the addition of the doppleganger. I loved that more depth was added to Zane, the comic book store owner. I also liked that Joanna is learning more about her powers and finally taking a bit more responsibility for her actions. It was a very interesting book. I also liked that Pettersson is trying to take this a bit beyond most paranormals by adding a deep Mythos behind her characters and adding interesting theories of vibrational frequencies behind the power of the super heros.

There were a few things I didn't like though. For a lot of the book I feel like Joanna is confused and just has two much going on. It is almost like Joanna has horrible ADD and can't focus long enough to complete anything. It makes me wonder if maybe Pettersson is having some trouble focusing on what the point of the story is; maybe she's thrown too much at Joanna for this character to get things done in some symblance of order. Joanna's fixation with Ben and blindness towards him is irritating, as is her reluctance to accept her new life. Joanna's lack of training and knowledge is also irritating, usually in this type of story you would have at least a small period where the hero learns what their capabilities are and Joanna doesn't do that; she just stumbles through the story. Also, even though I liked the inclusion of scientific theory behind the special super hero powers, I felt like the vibrational theory explanation was a bit contrived. It felt like Pettersson was making up these theories on the fly and hadn't really thought them though.

Even though this wasn't the tightest most well put together story that I have ever read, and the main character seemed unfocused and scattered at times, it was still a very good book. Joanna has a lot of depth as a character and the story is wildly creative and interesting. Joanna does redeem herself at the end, showing that she is growing as a character and making progress in accepting who she is. This isn't quite the book I had hoped it would be, but I have high hopes for the next novel. These books are just a hair away from being something really extraordinary.

A Giant Problem (Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 2) by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (4/5 stars)

This is the second book in the follow-up to the Spiderwick Chronicles; Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles. I liked it better than the first book. I began to emphathize with the characters a bit more. It was much more interesting than the first book. Unlike the first book, this book left the story in a decent place. The main point of the book is wrapped up, yet there is a little catch at the end that leads you to the third book. The book is well-written and the drawings are again excellent. Still it is a very short book. I am not sure why these are split up into such short stories, maybe it's to make them more approacable to children?

In this book Nick and Laurie try to tackle the Giant problem in the area. With the help of Noseeum Jack can they rid the area of the giant problem before the whole area goes up in flames?

A pretty good book. I am looking forward to the last book in the trilogy. The way things are coming together that should be the best of the series.

The Nixie's Song (Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (3/5 stars)

This is the first book in the follow-up to the Spiderwick Chronicles; Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles. It is well-written and an okay read. I didn't like the main characters all that much. The story is very short, as with the Spiderwick Chronicles. The drawings are great.

Nick and Laurie are two step-siblings recently forced together through the marriage of their parents. Laurie believes in fairies and when Nick picks up a 4 leaf clover and spies a Nixie in the backyard, the two of them get sucked into a fairy adventure that neither of them expected.

I personally didn't like this book as much as any of the books in the Spiderwick Chronicles; for some reason it just doesn't seem as classically magical. It could be because the whole story takes place in a suburban housing development. There also wasn't any sort of wrap up to the story. You are left waiting to read the next book to see what happens. Luckily I had the next book. These books only take me 30 minutes to read; so I will definitely read the next one. Still I didn't think these were as impressive as the original books.

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is book three in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. This was a great book; I am so happy that this series has been consistently wonderful.

In this book Rose is dealing with a lot of stuff. The guardians are starting their field training, Rose is seeing things, and Rose has been out of control angry lately. On top of all that Lissa's personal life keeps leeking into Rose's head while Rose is trying to get some rest. Of course there is the deal with Dimitri; will they ever end up together? There is also a rumor that the Strigoi are on the move.

This book moved quickly. Rose's character had some very interesting developments. I liked that her and Christopher start spending more time getting to know each other, I also thought Eddie was a strong character in this book. Lissa using magic again was also a nice touch. The ending of the book caught me by surprise and made me really excited for the next book.

I love these books. The characters are very interesting and strong, the plot line moves along nicely, and Mead packs in some nice surprises. Sometimes there is a little too much teenage angst going on, but well it's set in a high school so what can you expect? I think that Rose is maturing nicely as a character, she is starting to become a true heroine and take her job as a guardian seriously. Oh, yeah and did I mention she really kicks butt in the fighting department?

Mead is a great writer and I look forward to reading more of her books.

Holidays are Hell edited by Kim Harrison (5/5 stars)

This was a compilation of four novellas edited by Kim Harrison. Overall I thought it was a great set of stories. I zipped through this book so fast. My favorite story was the Kim Harrison one; my least favorite Six by Liu.

Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel is by Kim Harrison
This was a great prequel to the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison. It was a lovely stand alone story, but had more impact if you have read that series. It was fun to read about a younger Rachel who is still struggling to recover from Rosewood syndrome and trying to decide if she should join the IS or not. It was nice to read about a time in her life that helped get her to where she is at the start of the series. Great quality of writing, excellent, just like all of Kim Harrison's stories.

Run, Run Rudolph by Lynsay Sands
This story was a surprise for me. It was funny, light-hearted, and I really liked it. I have never read anything by Lynsay Sands before. I liked her light writing style. There is nothing heavy or cotemplative here, but it was a fun read all the same. I might check out more of her writing based on this story. Basically it tells about a woman who gets zapped by a molecular experimental machine and can change shape. She ends up being hunted from someone from her brother's past and what ensues is pretty funny.

Six by Marjorie M. Liu
This was my least favorite story. I have never read anything by Liu before. This story was about a Chinese agent, your basic trained from birth assasin, and how she ends up getting involved in the paranormal community. Liu did a good job of switching writing style when she switched character perspective. Still, I didn't care for the writing style and I though the heroine was a bit boring.

The Harvest by Vicki Pettersson
This was a prequel to the Signs of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson. The story is told from Zoe Archer's (Joann's mom) point of view. It tells us more about what happened to Joann's daughter and give interesting insight into both Zoe's relationship with the Tulpa and her relationship with Warren (the leader of the Light Zodiac). I am not sure how good of a stand-alone story this is; but if you have read some of Pettersson's books you will absolutely love this story. It explains so much about why Zoe did what she did and sheds a lot of Light on why Warren and Joann interact the way they do.

All in all a great combination of stories. I plan on ordering some of the other Hell compilations that have been edited by Harrison. Hopefully those will be as high of quality as this book was.

The Taste of Night by Vicki Pettersson (4/5 stars)

This was the second book of the Signs of the Zodiac series by Vicki Pettersson. I didn't think book was quite as good as the first one, but it was still a fast-paced and fun adventure to read.

With the second sign of the Zodiac looming imminent over the city of Las Vegas, Joanna Archer is desperate to figure out what the Shadows next move is. Unfortunately the rest of Light team is happy that things are in balance and are content to let things stand as they are. Will Joanna act on her own and foresake her other Light members? Will she finally get her revenge against the Shadow who raped her? Is she still able to pull off being Olivia without any mishaps? All of these questions and more are answered in this book.

This was a great book. Things happened quickly and a lot happened. The whole story was wrapped up nicely and nothing seemed forced, the pacing was great. It was hard to put the book down and I was holding my breath the whole time wondering what would happen next.

There was a lot I liked about this book. I liked the progression of the story in general. I liked Hunter, I liked JoAnna, I even think that the Tulpa makes a great bad guy. I love that the idea of events being reported in comic books was expanded. I loved the inclusion of more philisophy around believing things into existance. I think this is a great series.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that Joanna really made a horrible heroine. She made mistake after mistake, and sometimes I wanted to smack her and talk some sense into her. Luckily though, by the end of the book, it seemed like Joanna was maturing and coming into her own as a heroine. I hope that this trend continues throughout the next book. That is one thing I don't like about the Anna Strong Chronicles, I am four books into that series and Anna is still making the same mistakes she made in the first couple books. Characters need to change and mature.

I conclusion, I love this series. I have the third book and am very excited to read it!

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers (4/5 stars)

This is apparently the 2nd book in the Theodosia series. I got this through Amazon vine. It was a good book. I enjoyed it, definitely more of a young adult series, which is what it is listed as. I guess I would call this series Artemis Fowl meets ancient Egypt.

I did not read the first book in this series. This did not cause me any confusion in this book really, there were some references to people and places that occurred in the first book. These references didn't detract any from the story presented in this book. Theodosia is a very intelligent young lady who has become involved with some Secret Societies that are either looking to cause chaos or prevent it. In this book Theo finds the Staff of Osiris in the basement of the museum her father owns. When she accidentally activates it things start spiraling out of control.

It was a quick, fun read. Theodosia is a great character. It would have been nice to have some of the other characters be more developed, but the story doesn't center on them so I guess that is that. The book brought to mind the Artemis Fowl series, I don't think it is comparable, even a little bit, to Harry Potter; it is a completely different type of story. The book also brought to mind The Mummy movies.

I am not sure I need to put another young adult series on my plate of things to read, but I might consider it since this was such a well-done and fun book.

Mona Lisa Blossoming by Sunny (4/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Monere: Children of Moon series by Sunny. I didn't think the first book was all that great, it seemed to be echoing the Meredith Gentry series too much. But I borrowed this book from a friend so I thought why not give it a read. Luckily I actually liked it.

Mona Lisa is going to lay claim and move into her new territory. She has to deal with her enemy from the first book, who is now her neighbor and the existing Monere in her territory. If the premise sounds straight forward it is. This is a very quick, easy, yet fun read.

The characters are what make this book. More specifically Halcyon; without him this book would not be nearly was good. The Lord of Hell was also an interesting character. There is a lot of sex. The only thing I can say about that is that I think that the sex is more creative and more psychologically motivated than the sex in the Meredith Gentry series. Although I did get a bit sick of the different synonyms used to describe male parts.

So I guess if you know what you are getting into, liked the first book, and want more of that this is the book for you. It's a quick, fun read. There's lots of time spent on character development and sex. So if you aren't interested in that then don't read it. This is more of a romance than a fantasy or typical paranormal book.

Dreaming Again edited by Jack Dann

Dreaming Again

The stories in this collection are all over the place; some are horror, many are sci-fi, and many just explore other alternate realities. As a whole the collection was an enjoyable read. There is a lot here so it was not the quickest read for me; I also had a little bit of trouble reading the stories consecutively because their subject matter was so varied and disjointed. I have found that with very different short stories I sometimes need a break between them so that I can think about and process what I have read before jumping into something completely new.

All in all it was a decent collections of stories; there were only a couple stories I disliked.

For me some of the highlight stories were:
- Nightship by Kim Westwood
Ship boy escapes the dismal confines of the fogged out island area. This was a dismal and dark story, but had a very interesting world and culture. The imagery was great too!

- Neverland Blues by Adam Browne
In future earth Michael Jackson is a spaceship and he needs a friend to travel with. Okay I thought the storyline was a bit hokey, but I really liked this guy's writing style. He used great imagery, with many fast-paced observations. Writing style reminded me a little of the Nightside series by Simon Green.

- The Forest by Kim Wilkins
This is retelling of Hansel and Gretel in near future earth. I love retelling of classic fairytales and I thought this was a great story. I really want to check out more of her writings.

- The Lost Property Room by Trudi Caravan
Cute story about a lady who retrieves an item from the train property room that's not hers and ends up paying a steep price for it. I liked this story.

- The Lanes of Camberhill by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
This was about a woman and a man seeking secret ways in the Lanes of Camberhill. It was a beautiful story with lush description and interesting thoughts on the philosophy behind geography, I really liked it!

- Purgatory by Rowena Cory Daniells
A virus has infected all of humanity and it invokes religious fanaticism. The main character finds a cure and administers it but at a great cost. This was a very creative and very interesting story. I love the idea of fanaticism being a disease.

- Perchance to Dream by Isobelle Carmody
About a girl who is stuck in a dream trying to figure out what went wrong with her life. I really liked this story; it reminded me a little of some of the Charles deLint stories I have read.


I was debating if adding a list of the stories would make the review too long. Since I already have it written, figure I might as well include it. So...

Below is a list of the stories with a short synopsis and thoughts.

Old Friends by Garth Nix
Old tree warrior fights long time enemy to the death. Very short and sad, yet hopeful, good imagery.

A Guided Tour in the Kingdom of the Dead by Richard Harland
Eager tourist tells a PhD of his journey through the kingdom of the dead. Interesting topic and idea, done with a little humor.

This is my Blood by Ben Francisco and Chris Lynch
Tells of missionary Mother Rena on plant Stark dealing with the Duvari. Engaging story, I think about it a lot, done in a diary-type style. Very science fiction.

Nightship by Kim Westwood
Ship boy escapes the dismal confines of the fogged out island area (maybe future Japan?). Dismal and dark story, interesting world and culture.

The Fooly by Terry Dowling
A ghost is haunted by a ghost. Well-written, unexpected ending. Paranormal genre.

Neverland Blues by Adam Browne
In future earth Michael Jackson is a spaceship and he needs a friend to travel with. Great imagery, fast-paced observations like Nightside.

The Jacaranda Wife by Angela Slatter
Folktale about a woman that is a tree. Written in a very historian/literature type of style.

The Constant Past by Sean McMullen
Time traveling serial killer foisted by a librarian. Was okay.

The Forest by Kim Wilkins
Retelling of Hansil and Gretel in near future earth. I really liked this one.

Robots & Zombies, Inc. by Lucy Sussex
Fragmented interview with a robot in power. Apparently all power figures are robots and controlling the world. I didn't like the fragmented way the tale was told. So far the weakest story in the book.

This Way to the Exit by Sara Douglass
People start disappearing from an underground railway in London. Good story - kind of Neil Gaimenish

Grimmes and the Gaijin Daimgo by A. Bertran Chandler
Skipped this one, couldn't get through it.

Lure by Paul Collins
Virus is killing avatars in a virtual universe. Good writing, cute story, straightforward.

Empire by Simon Brown
Alternate history where two boys help to sing away a Martian invasion. Okay story, wasn't my favorite.

Lakeside by Christopher Green
Girl plays with a dead/alive baby by the lake. Vague story I wasn't exactly sure what was going on here. More of a horror story than anything.

Trolls' Night Out by Jenny Blackwell?
Wolf woman with twins comes up with a cure for Troll metamorphism. Cute, fast reading story. Throws you a couple interesting twists. Introduces what could be a very interesting world if expanded on.

The Rest is Silence by Aaron Stevens
Man is attacked by ghosts of people in his past and literally fights them off. This is horror story and was very gory and candid, it was okay but not my favorite

Smoking, Waiting for the Dawn by Hason Nahrung
Vampire hunter is forced to decide if he will Turn to protect a vampire friend's kids and wife. Kind of done in an old western style/alternate reality genre. It was okay.

The Lanes of Camberhill by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
About a woman and a man seeking secret ways in the Lanes of Camberhill. Beautiful story, lush description, lots of philosophy behind geography, I really liked it!

Lost Arts by Stephen Dedman
Van Gogh's Starry Night painting goes missing in a utopian society and the governor Tao works to recover it. Futuristic utopia, sci-fi. Good story, I liked it.

Undead Camels Ate Their Flesh by Jason Fischer
Classic bad horror zombie flick in story form. Aussie camels turned zombie and eating people! Fun and gross :-)

Europa by Cecily Scott
About Yanni trying to cross the sea. Written in a vague way I didn't like it very much.

Riding on the Q-ball by Rosaleen Love
Quick paced tongue-in-cheek story. Very Tom Holt like, sci-fi.

In From the Snow by Lee Battersby
Story about a family surviving in the snow. Written in a brutal, no-frills style. It was okay, not a pretty enough story for me.

The Lost Property Room by Trudi Caravan
Cute story about a lady who retrieves an item from the train property room that's not hers and ends up paying a steep price for it. I liked this story.

Heere Be Monsters by John Birmingham
As a British exploration fleet approaches Australia they realize the whole place has been taken over by zombies. It was okay, not my favorite

Purgatory by Rowena Cory Daniells
A virus has infected all of humanity and it invokes religious fanaticism. The main character finds a cure and administers it but at a great cost. This was a great story.

Manannan's Children by Russell Blackford
A young warrior learns that he is an immortal. A young woman immortal helps him to learn what that means. Very good story, great imagery, and interesting philosophy.

The Fifth Star in the Southern Cross by Margo Lanagan
Futuristic world where being able to birth a good child can provide your lifetime income. Interesting concept, okay story.

Twilight in Caeli-Amur by Rjurik Davidson
This was about a scientist that goes to retrieve an old man's notebook on plants from his wife. It was okay and had a nice twist to it at the end.

Paradise Design'd by Janeen Webb
This was a retelling of Adam and Eve with dinosaurs.

The New Deal by Trent Jamieson
About a world where your deals with gods constantly remake you. I didn't like it that much.

Conquist by Dirk Strasser
Spanish explorers stumble into a new world of elves and dwarves. This was a pretty good story!

The Last Great House of Isla Tortuga by Peter M. Ball
About some pirates who stop off for a break with some dead..ummm...ladies of the night. It was an okay story.

Perchance to Dream by Isobelle Carmody
About a girl who is stuck in a dream trying to figure out what went wrong with her life. I really liked this story.

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (4/5 stars)

This is the 8th book in the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris featuring Sookie Stackhouse. This was a good book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the first time I had listened to one of these books on audio book. The audio book was very well done. The only thing about the audio book that annoyed me was that they lady who read it made Sookie have a heavy southern twang; this was realistic to Sookie's character but made me talk in a southern twang to everyone I meet after listening to it. I was finding myself working very hard not to talk in a southern belle like manner :-)

This book was great fun. Some interesting things are revealed about Sookie's family. Things heat up and are resolved on both the vampire and werewolf fronts. A lot happens and most of it is neatly wrapped up. I was a little irked that Bill Compton is trying to force his way back into the story, I've frankly has enough of him. I was also irked that there wasn't more resolution between Sookie and Eric Northman. I am not sure there's a lot more I can say without giving things away. It was a fun read, never boring. A bit of a transitional novel as everyone struggles to recover from hurricane Katrina. A lot of things were wrapped up but there was still quite a bit that was left open too. I am antsy for the next novel.

I think part of what makes these novels so good is Sookie's character. She is such a real character. She needs to go to work to make ends meet, she is a sweet woman who tries hard to be good even though it irritates her sometimes, she is feminine, yet such has a hard center that allows her to stand up for what she thinks is right. A lot of this book was about Sookie trying to live her normal life despite everything she keeps getting wrapped up in. Because of that I think this book ended up being quite a bit better than the last one. I am very excited for the next book.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson (4/5 stars)

This is the final book in the Starcatchers trilogy by Berry and Pearson. It was a satisfying and very complete conclusion. It was also a fast-paced, fun read.

Peter is back on Mollusk island and trying to get settled in after his adventures in London. Unfortunately he doesn't have long before things start to go awry. The Mollusks are attacked by a vicious band of tribesmen called the Scorpions. Back in London, the Aster family is having their own issues. The mysterious contact that used to tip off the Starcatchers of imminent Starstuff falls has gone missing and the Starcatchers need to figure out why the Others are making it to the starstuff falls before they do. As Lord Aster leaves to meet with the other Starcatchers, Molly and George find out some interesting facts about Peter's past.

This book was very well written, a fun read, fast-paced and creative. I would have rated it higher, but despite it's perfection the characters never really drew me in. Towards the end of the book I was finding myself wanting it to wrap up and be done. It did wrap up nicely leaving everything just the way you would expect from the classic Peter Pan story. Maybe that was part of the issue; I already knew where the characters would end up at the beginning of the story. While the journey to the ending was interesting, sometimes the story was written with maybe a little too much perfection. It was a very Disney-like story, not surprising since this trilogy was backed by Disney.

Still, it was an enjoyable read. I am glad the trilogy is wrapped up though. I am not sure we need a whole bunch more books about Peter Pan; this trilogy was perfect in setting up his past. It was a fun creative ride and I am happy to have read the series. I will enjoy reading it to my son when he is a few years older (only 20 months right now). A very good book for kids.

Legacy by Jeanne C. Stein (2/5 stars)

This is the fourth book in the Anna Strong Chronicles by Stein. I think the best thing this book has going for it is that it is a quick read.

Anna finds herself in the middle of a soap opera in this book. David's girlfriend Gloria has contacted Anna for help. Gloria's business relationship with the co-owner of her restaurant has gone south and Gloria wants Anna to help we sort it out. Shortly after this things really get out of hand for Gloria. Other than that there is a pack of werewolves in town that has an interest in Anna. Anna is still struggling with maintaining her human ties.

I mean seriously, Anna is caught in the crossfire of Gloria and David's relationship, Daniel Frey's new relationship with his girlfriend, troubles with a werewolf pack, and trouble with continuing the facade that she is human with her family. Events are mish-mashed together and so many things are thrown at you so rapidly that at times it makes you sigh and think "Okay one more personal issue for Anna to deal with." I felt like I was watching a bad paranormal soap opera. There doesn't seem to be an overlying story here. Anna, to be quite honest, is a bitch through this whole book. Anna has a lot of excuses to explain her bad interactions with people; it comes down to the fact that as a character she is not changing, she stays stubbornly the same.

We really don't find out a whole lot more about the supernatural community either. Maybe a little about werewolves but that's it. There is no more about the Watchers; Max is gone again from the plot. He makes a brief appearance in the beginning to add to Anna's angst (as if she doens't have enough emotional crap to deal with) and then is visibly absent for the rest of the book. What is with Max anyway? Out of all the significant others I've read about, he has got to be the one with the least ever amount of page space ever. I thought that the whole deal with the witch introduced in the last book could have served for some very interesting material in this book, guess I was wrong there was almost no mention of it in this book.

I am beginning to wonder if Stein plans out her series at all or just free-flow writes whatever pops into her mind. The positive for this series is that it is fast-moving, engaging, and a super quick read. I think it took me, at tops, three hours to read this book. Stein continues to keep her sex scenes tasteful and brief, which is a relief.

I also was also disappointed that there weren't many fight scenes, I mean where's the action and adventure here? I don't know if I will keep reading this series. I have been borrowing the books from a friend...so if I can keep reading them for free I might. I would never invest money in them though...