Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow (5/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Danny Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow. Amazon kept recommending this book to me as a great book to read. Guess what? I really did like it!

Danny is a Necromance; that is she communes with the dead. In order to make some extra cash on the side she often takes up bounty hunts. The rumor of her hobby has reached Lucifer, yes the Devil himself, and he has sent one of his demons to bring Danny to hell to offer her a job. A demon is on the loose, a demon that's been granted immunity from hell, and Lucifer needs Danny to take the job. To help keep Danny alive Lucifer sends along his right hand assasin, Japhrimel.

This is a face paced, fun book, with a dark sense of humor. Much of the humor is somewhat cutting and sarcastic. The whole book is very dark and reminds me a little bit of Sin City or Gotham City. The cast of characters is very entertaining and each has their own bits of dark past that gives them great depth. There is a little kung-fu taste to the book, as Danny fights with a katana and has her own specific version of honor. Think Kill-Bill, with more magic and not quite as much revenge.

There is non-stop action, more than a little violence and gore. The thing I liked best though was the creativity of the book. The book takes place in a future earth type setting. As such, there is some bandying about of tech-talk that leaves the reader wondering at times. Yet, the incorporation of magic and demons into this tech world is done seamlessly. I was very impressed.

My only complaint would be that the writing is not as high level as I usually like; but for this book the writing style fits the context. Some of the book reminds me a little of Kim Harrison's "Dead Witch Walking" series. This series has a lot more edge and darkness to it though; I guess if I had to compare it with something I've read before (although it's a very unique book so that is tough) I would compare this series to the Sonya Blue Series by Nancy Collins. Although, Danny is not as screwed up as Sonya was and this is a more comfortable series for me to read than Sonya Blue was.

The main story was tied up nicely at the end of the book. Still, I yearned to know more about Danny after I finished the first book. For instance what horrible things happened at the school she went to? What really happens to the demon? How will Danny deal with her new...physique?

Loved the book. I ran right out and bought the second one as soon as I had finished the first.

Mistral's Kiss by Laurell Hamilton (3/5 stars)

This book is the fifth book in the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell Hamilton. I am really not sure why I read this series. I think part of the reason why is that I have always been intrigued by the Unseelie and Seelie fairy courts. This series is one of the best ones for delving deep into traditional-type fairy culture. Unfortunately a lot of this series is also devoted to sex. Lots and lots of sex. Which I guess is okay since the whole point of the series is for Merry to have a heir. I don't think people should still be complaining about their being too much sex in these books. These books made no secret about what they were about from the very beginning and if you don't like the sex you probably shouldn't still be reading them!

This book spends a lot of time dealing with three of the fairy members; Mistral, Abeloec, and King Sholto. With Mistral's entrance to the sex scene there is a little tame S&M introduced into the book. The sithen continues to act oddly in response to Merry's prescence. Merry's guard continues to gain godlike powers by sleeping with her. There is some plot development but oddly the book is very, very short. I think it took maybe 3-4 hours to read it. I agree with some other reviews I have read that this should not have been a stand alone book.

I am strangely intrigued by Merry's guards all turning back into gods. I mean in the end what will that make Merry considering she is not fully sidhe? It continues to be an interesting series, but I have learned not to expect a whole lot from these books. They are fun and quick and at least Merry's character has been fairly consistent throughout the series. When I read the Anita Blake books sometimes I feel like Merry has been creeping into Anita's character and it bothers me.

So all in all, the book was okay. I am glad I waited to buy it used. This book was exactly what I expected, which is to say it wasn't awful but it wasn't anything extraodinary either.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (4/5 stars)

This is the third, and final book, of the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray. Although this was an excellent book; I think it was the weakest of the series.

This book picks up with the girls back at Spence Academy looking forward to a new school year. Gemma is struggling to use her magic to summon a door to the realms and also finds out that the wing of the school that burnt down is being rebuilt. Gemma has more visions and eventually they lead her to find that there is a door to enter the realms in the old wing of the school. When Felicity, Ann, and Gemma enter the realms they find that things have changed; the creatures from the Winterlands are missing. Gemma is pressured by the forest folk to share the magic that she bound to herself in the last book and is unsure of who to trust throughout the whole book.

There is a lot to say about this book. The book was very long; a bit too long. It is a long time until Kartrik enters the story and initially you are left wondering if you'll ever see him again. Gemma's character became kind of frustrating to read about. She knows that what she does with the magic is really important, yet she seems to spend a lot of time playing with the magic. This seems inconsistent with her character; usually she gets things done. In this book she spends a lot of time using the magic for frivolous purposes. I am not sure if this was supposed to portray Gemma's immaturity or what the purpose was.

This book had some interesting political overtones; which were different from previous books in the series. There was more of a women's rights and worker's rights theme to this book. I thought it was strange that politics enter into the storyline fairly prominently. This was something the girls never worried about much before. Maybe the politics were supposed to show us that the girls were maturing and starting to pay more attention to society outside of their little happy sphere.

I am not surprised at how things ended between Gemma and Kartrik. I am surprised that so many readers were caught off guard by the result of their relationship. Really, to stay at all true with the times, that was probably the best way to handle things. Felicity, Gemma, and Ann are already bolder than I think the society of the time would really allow for; what happens with Gemma and Kartrik brings a bit of realism to the story.

I though Felicity and Ann's storylines were well done and wrapped up nicely. I especially like how Ann's story went; that girl deserved a nice turn in her life. I think Felicity's story ended on a more positive note than it would realistically. As for Gemma's final story; I have to agree with other reviewers that that was totally out of left field. No idea at all where that came from. Gemma's decisions about her future didn't seem to fit with the rest of Gemma's interests and life style. It was odd. I am not sure if the author's sole intention was to surprise and shock but, well, I guess if that was the intention, it worked.

Overall the book was well-written, ended okay, and left the characters in pleasant (almost too pleasant) stages of their lives. I wish the story had been a bit tighter, that Gemma's character had stayed more true to her, well, character, and that things hadn't ended on such an absurdly positive fairytale-ish note. Other than that it was a very satisfying read and a good conclusion to an absolutely wonderful series. It will be interesting to see what Miss Bray writes next!

Mysterious Journey to the North Sea (Part Two) by Hideyuki Kikuchi (5/5 stars)

This is the eighth book in the Vampire Hunter D series by Hideyuki Kikuchi. This book picks up right where the last book left off; in the middle of a fight.

D struggles (as much as he ever struggles) to protect the pearl from the evil people that plot to steal it from him. He also is protecting Win-Lu from all of the people going after the pearl. There are numerous battle and even more evil-doers than ever before. You finally find out what the pearl is and why it is so important.

As I mentioned when reviewing part 1; this book is somewhat different from the other books in the Vampire Hunter D series in that D is more "human" than ever before. D shows emotion and shows that he has faults like everyone else. Win-Lu is a strong character with a dry sense of humor that makes the book fun. You get to spend a lot more time with D's left hand and his hand also has a sense of wit to rival Win-Lu's.

This was a great book with non-stop action. You are actually left wondering at points if D will give up his wandering for a bit and make this town a temporary home. This book gives some nostalgic insight into how things were with the nobility before disaster struck. Of course more mystery is presented regarding who, and what, D is. Some hints are given as to D's origin but nothing is answered for sure.

I look forward to the next book in the series. Although there is a long way to go in this series. I read somewhere that in Japan book 18 was just released. Good thing I like these books because it looks like I will have a lengthy relationship with them :-)

Mysterious Journey to the North Sea (Part One) by Hideyuki Kikuchi (4/5 stars)

This is the seventh book in Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D series. I liked it I really, really liked it. For some reason I have a soft spot for this series. Because it is translated, the language is always a little clunky and doesn’t have the flowing beauty that I imagine it would in Japanese. Anyone, who’s read it in Japanese, can chime in on this!

In this book D comes upon Win-Lu after she has been captured while trying to sell a mysterious pearl. D makes a promise to deliver the pearl back to the girl’s sister Su-In. Su-In later hires D to help protect her from all the meanies that come after the pearl.

This was my favorite Vampire Hunter D book to date. There are a ton of new characters, each of them with very creative and interesting powers. The description in the book is great. I love Su-In; she is not the archetypal female character that these books normally deal with. Su-In is strong and courageous with certain soft aspects to her personality that are surprising. I feel like this is the most “human” D has been portrayed in any of these books. D actually engages in everyday activities and shows some emotion towards the other characters.

My only disappointments with this book were that it ended in the middle of a fight scene (luckily I didn’t start reading this one until I had part 2) and that you don’t find out much about the pearl. Really nothing is resolved in the first book; so when it says it is part 1, it definitely is only a part of the story. I also agree with another review I read that sometimes it is easy to confuse Glen and D; they are both described similarly throughout the book. I am very excited to hear that the next Vampire Hunter D anime is supposed to be based on this book.

Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker (4/5 stars)

This is the second Abarat book by Clive Barker and starts shortly after where the last one left off. I listened to this book on audio book and, like audio book of Abarat, the audio book was very well done.

Once again we follow Candy on her efforts to elude Christopher Carrion. Candy bumps into a cast of great new quirky characters as she tries to flee Carrion’s minions. John Mischief and crew are still trying to find Fennigan Hob. Will Christopher Carrion be able to bring about Permanent Midnight? What is Candy Quackenbush’s real identity? These are all things that are visited in this book.

This is a great book, it is very creative, and still reminds me a bit of Alice in Wonderland. This book is definitely written by a horror author; there is a sort of cloud of evil or despair over the story as you read it. While this is a great book, really young children would probably find it too scary and some of the ending fight scenes are pretty-darn gory.

I really love Barker’s bad guys. I just can’t emphasize enough how much depth the bad guys have. Especially with Christopher Carrion; you can never figure out if he is really bad to the core or if maybe he was just born into a bad family. The ending surprised me a bit, as the whole mystery surrounding Candy didn’t end up exactly how I thought it would.

There were a couple things that really disappointed me; this book still had a very open ending. There is a lot in Abarat that needs to be resolved at the close of the book. That was very disappointing to me since I haven’t seen (or heard of plans for) another Abarat book. I didn’t like how it ended for Candy’s mother either. I guess I just have to live with that since Barker seems more about realism than happy endings. I was also curious as to why Rojo Pixler and the Commexo kid weren’t mentioned much in this book. In the last book Rojo looked like a big contender for a parallel bad guy; that was dropped in this book.

All the above being said; this was still a very good book and a great follow-up to Abarat.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelo (3/5 stars)

I have heard of this book numerous times before. So when I saw it on the buy one get one table at Borders I decided to get it because there was another book on there that I wanted.

This is not the type of book I normally read but once in a while I like to throw in something different to give me a new perspective on things and clear out my "fantasy reading" palate.

This book describes the journey of a boy, Santiago, from his life as a shepherd to the realization of his "Personal Legend". That's basically what the book goes through, that's it.

This book reminded me a lot of a parable or fable. It was written in a very simplistic, straight forward style. I think a relatively young child could read and, to some depth understand, the book. The moral of the book seems to be to never give up your dreams; things that come between you and your dreams are there for a reason. There are probably a number of other symbolic instances in the book but, truth be told, I didn't find it intriguing enough to spend a lot of time analyzing the book.

It is a very short book and a quick read. It felt more like reading a novella than an actual book. It reminded me of a book that probably wasn't that tough to write and makes me wonder about all the hubbaloo about it. Maybe people should spend more time reading books in general.

That being said the book does have a sense of peace about it. When you finish the book you are relatively happy and have a peaceful feeling about life in general. This book gives you a sense of "everything happens for a reason", yet empowers you to feel like you *can* make a difference in your life and those around you.

For some reason the feeling this book left me with reminded me of how I felt after reading the Kushiel's Dart trilogy. In some odd way Santiago reminded me of Phedre'. Anyone who has read both books is probably thinking I am nutsy. But think about it; both characters seem to go through life with a sort of grace, both characters take a lot of hard knocks but keep on reaching for what they see as right, and both characters seem to end up happy with their lives thus far.

One thing about this book really bothered me and that was the obsessive use of the capitalized term "Personal Legend". This phrase was used too frequently throughout the book and described often; it made me feel like Coelo was either 1) trying to dumb down the book for the readers or 2) coin his own personal self-help phrase. If it was 1) he should assume his audience is a bit brighter than he did and if it is 2) I don't appreciate reading a fiction book that is trying to sell its own self-help series.

I was very surprised that a treasure really existed. Given the tone of the book I expected the treasure to be the journey itself, or some similar high-handed drivel.

Anyway, the book was okay. It was a quick read but I have a feeling that most people out there who read a lot will wonder what the big deal is. For those who are solely "bestseller readers" this may be a more significant piece of work. If it ends up becoming a classic and being required reading in schools, I think the kids should be grateful since it is a very quick and easy read.