Novel: Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

I have a new favorite author!

I literally could not bear to put this book down and stop reading it.
I loved, loved, loved, Miranda Grey, the heroine of the story.
She is tiny and beautiful and incredibly talented. She is terribly vulnerable, but also incredibly strong. She starts off tortured by her powerful gift of empathy which she has no idea how to control. She's a musician living in the city of Austin, TX, and the only way she can bear her empathy is to channel it through music. But, she is so tortured by sensing other people's emotions that she is slowly being driven mad.

One night after performing in a bar, she is brutally raped and very nearly killed. If you are particularly sensitive to this sort of thing you probably won't want to read it. I found that it was a graphic scene and very upsetting to me.  But, she is saved by David, (the "Prime" male vampire in charge of the Southern parts of the USA) who takes her back to his vampire "Haven" in the Texas Hill country. There he patiently helps her to heal, and teaches her to control her gift of empathy. The two of course fall in love, but try with all their might to resist the attraction, very nearly to the end of the story. I gave the book extra bonus points for this factor. This isn't one of those stories with gratuitous sexual scenes oozing all over the place. It is definitely more about the story and character development which I prefer.

In the meantime, there is a deadly war among competing vampire factions to be fought. Miranda and David try a separation thinking that it will save her life. They do everything that they can to try and forget about each other for months (which thankfully, they finally realize is impossible). While David is trying everything he can to outwit his elusive enemies, Miranda works on her music, becoming ever more famous and successful, and she also studies Martial Arts. Having studied JiuJitsu during my University days I was *very* into Miranda's Martial Arts training.

By the end of the novel Miranda has been completely transformed from the frightened, mousy, nerve-wracked empath out of control to a supremely powerful force to be reckoned with. The end was a total triumph and I was standing up cheering for "Queen Miranda!"

Four Talons. A keeper. I won't forget this story, or it's author.

My latest stack of novels to read

Just picked up from the library today:

Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan
Wolf's Bluff by W. D. Gagliani
The Woods Are Dark by Richard Laymon
Midnight's Daughter by Karen Chance
Destined For An Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

I've started off with Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan. Only 6 pages in and I can already tell I'm going to eat this one right up. It's well written. It's dark urban fantasy (set in Austin, Texas), it has a strong female protagonist, and it has vampires. Ok. I'm off to devour it...

Novel: Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

This novel was the best one out of the most recent batch. It was "hard-boiled", dirty, nitty gritty, rough and tough. It was very well written, with a refreshing style all it's own. Think dark, extremely violent, modern-urban, sarcastic, cynical, supernatural, bounty hunter/spaghetti western, mystery, horror and action all rolled into one.

The protagonist James Stark survives as a hitman in Hell for eleven years. Somehow he escapes Hell and returns to Earth for revenge against some very nasty old "friends". He can take some serious beatings and come back for more, over, and over, and over again. How and why he's survived so far is a total mystery to everyone in Heaven, Hell and on Earth, including himself.

Turns out he's a nephilim - half angel, half human. He's got special powers all his own and he uses them to dish out mighty a** whompings of all evil creatures that get in his way, demon, vampire etc. In the end he manages to stop the apocalypse and save everyone. Hoo Ra! Did I say I liked this one? Well, I did. Three Talons. A percher, but not a keeper.

Ok. Now I can return all my overdue novels, pay my fines and get out some more books.

Novel: Legend of the Jade Dragon by Jasmine Galenorn

Prolific Wiccan fantasy author Jasmine Galenorn cranks it out again. I think I'd call this one a supernatural mystery "cosy".

The protagonist Emerald O'Brien owns a quaint, charming, and successful tea shop where she also offers psychic readings. She is also a hereditary witch, and a single mom of two children.

A troubled customer arrives for a reading and leaves her shop only to be hit by a van. Just before dying, he hands her a mysterious and valuable Ming dynasty jade dragon which carries a terrible curse. And, we are off on another Galenorn adventure.

It was fun and light, but not so deeply memorable and moving that I'd want to read it again. I was mildly amused but nothing more than that. So, this book barely registers on my Talon vs Owl Pellet rating system. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It was just..."ok".

Novel: Night Souls by L.H.Maynard & M.P.N. Sims

This horror novel has a different interpretation of the vampire myth. Vampires are not "the undead", but a different race from humans completely which have always co-existed alongside of man. They are called "Breathers". They feed not only upon blood, but also upon the inner organs, and the soul energy of humans using special feeding claws in their hands which puncture the body, a feeding tongue which can enter the mouth and throat and extend deep into the stomach, and if a male even the sex organ becomes a feeding tool. They have split off into  different factions which want different things. One wants to keep the status quo and continue to feed off humans. The other wishes to develop a special hybrid race which can exist without feeding on humans and wipe out the human race completely.

A secret UK Government organization which specializes in the paranormal becomes aware of the Breathers and their threat to the human race and sets out to battle them.

It was an ok read. Not thrilling or terrifying for a horror novel. I never felt a moment of unease or fear while reading it. Maybe I'm just jaded and spoiled, but I wouldn't bother reading it again. No talons, and no pellets. Just all Ho Hum De Dum.

Novel: The Seventh Witch by Shirley Damsgaard

I have stolen an extra hour or so from the day so I can catch up on my novel reviews.

This novel is set in a small Southern town, complete with a magickal family feud between rival witch clans. I thought it was quaint and cute, fluffy and cosy.  It wasn't frightening or challenging or exciting in any way.  I guess I'd call it supernatural "lite". It's definitely not something I'd read again. Kind of boring actually. Snore...

Yikes! I have really fallen behind!

It's been far too long since I made an entry here. I've been sooooo busy! I have a stack of four novels that I have read through and are waiting to be reviewed before I return them to the library. They are probably overdue by now. I will have to log on to the library system and renew them if I can. Anyway, I intend to make an entry if not today, hopefully tomorrow.