REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

It is now year six at Hogwarts for Harry and his friends. Support for the evil Lord Voldemort is growing stronger by the day, many of his supporters, aka the Death Eaters, have managed to take control of key positions within the Ministry using the Imperius Curse, allowing them to control the other person without their knowledge or consent.

Back at Hogwarts, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has decided to tutor Harry in preparation for his forthcoming battle with Lord Voldemort. Together they explore the memories of several people from the young Tom Riddle's past, including Dumbledore's himself. Dumbledore feels it's important for Harry to understand the past events which shaped Tom Riddle and how they forged his growth into Voldemort. He also feels these memories should help Harry track down the hidden Horcruxes in which Voldemort has stored pieces of his soul in order to render himself immortal. For in order for Voldemort to be completely destroyed, all of his hidden Horcruxes must be located and destroyed.

This being book six, and the second to last book in the series, it didn't contain nearly as much action as previous books and this was even more apparent in the movie version. Instead, it seemed to contain a lot of "back story", sort of like an appetizer before the main meal or the prep work prior to a big assignment. There was certainly a lot of useful information here however and I didn't like the book any less for it; it was very deep and insightful into what makes Voldemort tick. But unfortunately, much of that didn't transition well to the movie and many of the memories that Harry and Dumbledore explored in the Pensieve were left out completely. If I hadn't read the book prior to watching the movie, I'm sure I would've felt like I was missing a lot of the little nuances which pulled it all together.

Towards the end of the book, an extremely significant event occurs, the exact sequence of which makes a very big impact on events in the final book. I really don't know how to say much more without giving away a major plot point for people who haven't read this far (or saw the movie) yet, but suffice to say you're definitely left hanging on the edge of your seat at the end. Had I read this book immediately upon it's release without having the final book ready and waiting to dive into, I'm certain I'd have gone crazy waiting a year for the conclusion!

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REVIEW: Afraid by Jack Kilborn

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

A helicopter crash just outside the small town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin has unleashed a group of terrifying fighters on a mission. These top-notch special forces mercenaries have government training, a strong thirst for murder, and even stranger, brains that have actually been chemically altered to allow them to be controlled by outside influences. The mayhem they release on this small Wisconsin town is the stuff that nightmares are made of! Though this book may tend to get a bit gory at times, true lovers of the horror genre won't mind one bit as it only adds to the terror. What will happen in the end? Will anyone in town escape the hands of these madmen? Will the Red-ops team get what they came for?

Jack Kilborn is a pseudonym for author J.A. Konrath, known previously for his police thriller Jack Daniels Mystery series. Though this book is his first foray into the horror genre, it clearly shows that he's certainly no amateur when it comes to writing some well and scary horror!

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REVIEW: Breathers: A Zombie's Lament by S. G. Browne

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

First, I must apologize for the tardiness of this review. I read this book while I was living on the road (out of my RV) during my cross-country move from Massachusetts to California. Because of this, it probably didn't get the full attention it deserved as my mind was so often preoccupied with all sorts of major real-life decisions, and I often went for days on end—sometimes even a whole week—without reading, and then when I came back to it, I had sometimes forgotten important details and found myself having to read previous chapters to refresh my memory. With that disclaimer out of the way, let me now attempt to give a fair review of this book despite my lengthy and erratic reading of it.

Andy Warner has recently lost his wife, his home, and all that he owns, including his own life! Yes, you heard correctly. Both Andy and his wife died in a car accident along Santa Cruz's Route 17, a steep, curvy road that winds through the Santa Cruz mountains in California. After his death however, Andy came back to life as a zombie, while his wife did not. Though zombies are now accepted as a normal but undesirable part of society, they are not afforded any rights and are treated as second class citizens, or worse! Zombies aren't allowed to live on their own and must have a legal guardian so Andy is living in his parents' basement while attending Undead Anonymous meetings to learn to cope with his situation.

As one of several zombies in his area, Andy and his friends do their best to remain under the radar and avoid confrontations with the extreme zombie-hating Breathers. But unfortunately, trouble has a way of finding him, and while Andy does his best to try to readjust to society, society isn't being so kind in return. Andy's story is a multifaceted one that will at times pull at your heart strings, while on the next page crack you up with its dark humor. I shall be on the lookout for more from this talented, new author.

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A Quick Update

I'm still here! LOL My recent cross-country move from Massachusetts to California really chewed into my reading time and I only just finished the book I started back in July: Breathers: A Zombies Lament by S. G. Browne, a review of which will be forthcoming in the next few days.

If you followed my travels via Facebook and/or Twitter, you know that we just moved into our new house in California at the end of October, having spent the summer living out of our RV (and the last 4 weeks previous, in a furnished apartment as the lack of space was driving us crazy). Anyway, if you want to catch up on any of that now, you can find links to my Facebook profile, my Twitter feed, and my Flickr photostream in the sidebar links. (If friend requesting and I wouldn't recognize your name, please mention you follow my blog as I don't necessarily approve all friend requests since my Facebook friends list has grown quite large and somewhat unwieldy.)

So though we've still got half a garage full of boxes left to unpack and sort through, I feel settled enough to start resuming some of my former activities again. So watch for that review shortly. And in the meantime, feel free to find and friend me on any of the aforementioned social networks. :)

REVIEW: Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would considering it's a romance. When I read a romance, the female lead needs to be a strong person. I get so frustrated over the swooning "I need a man" mentality. However, though Nell was weak in the beginning with her abusive husband, she eventually got past the mental block which often affects abuse victims and escaped the situation. That made me like her a lot more.

So after faking her own death, changing her name, and then fleeing to the other side of the country, she finds herself drawn to Three Sisters Island, where her destiny is calling her. But her scars from the past cannot be erased. Nell must eventually deal with the issues in order to move forward in her new relationship. Nell goes to work for a woman named Mia, a practicing Witch and Wiccan, who helps Nell to embrace the other half of her personality, the "witchy" side she never knew she had.

Of course, it's all happily ever after in the end. But what else would you expect from a romance. ;) The next two books in this trilogy are about Ripley and Mia respectively. Though I liked this one well enough, I haven't yet decided if I'm quite dying to read the others, simply because of the amount of other books I still have on my to-be-read pile.

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REVIEW: Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Kitty and Ben, now the dominant alphas of the Denver area, have decided to tie the knot and make it official human-style now as well. Despite her mother's objections, a big, expensive wedding doesn't appeal to either Kitty or Ben, so they've decided to elope to Las Vegas instead. But trouble seems to follow Kitty no matter where she runs off to, and beneath all the glitz and glamour of the Vegas strip lies a darker secret... one that will put the lives of both Kitty and Ben in grave danger.

This fourth book in the Kitty the Werewolf series is a bit lighter on the action than the previous books, but only slightly so. It focuses a bit more on Kitty and Ben's personal life and lets you see a bit deeper into that side of them, further endearing their characters to you. It may be the action which initially draws you in to this series, but it's the characters that will keep you coming back for more. Kitty and Ben rock!! :)

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REVIEW: Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

I love the Kitty Norville series! I'm terribly disappointed in myself for falling behind on this series, but I'll be remedying that now as I'm currently reading book five, Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand, and plan to read book six, Kitty Raises Hell, immediately or very shortly after that.

In this fourth installment of the popular series, Kitty has returned to Denver to deal with family issues. Unfortunately, the alpha and his mate of the werewolf pack she ran away from is not happy to see her back in town. To make matters worse, the vampires have their own power struggle going on, and Carl's werewolf pack is right smack in the middle of the action, leading him to believe that Kitty is secretly aiding the potential usurper of the (Vampire) Master of Denver. With Ben at her side, Kitty takes a stand. But you'll have to read the book to find out what happens next! ;)

If you haven't yet started this series, what are you waiting for? Carrie Vaughn delivers an action-packed urban fantasy with tough yet endearing characters you can't help but fall in love with!

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REVIEW: Unseelie by Meredith Holmes

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

When Alfhild was a little girl, her grandmother called her a fairy princess and told her all of her favorite tales. She'd never imagined they were real.

Now as a grown-up, Alfhild has changed her name and fled Louisiana, and the paparazzi that's been haunting her since her half-brother's murder accusations. She's now taken up residence in her grandmother's ancestral home in England, where all is well until the morning she awakens to find a naked man in her rosebush: a faerie prince by the name of Cadfael. And then the games begin....

All of a sudden, Alfhild is unwittingly drawn into the Faerie realm, becoming a pawn between the sparring Seelie and Unseelie Courts. And it seems her half-brother Gulliver is here too, playing for the other team....

Like me, you're probably thinking, oh no, not another faerie book! Aren't all these faerie realm books beginning to sound the same: young girl gets sucked into the realm, discovers her faerie prince, yada yada yada, and when all is said and done, lives happily ever after. This is what I was afraid of when I first started reading. But fortunately, this story had a few different things going for it to distinguish it from the standard "faerie tale" setup, and unlike many of the other faerie-based stories out there, this isn't a young adult book. For starters, we have Alfhild's half-brother, Gulliver, and her best friend, Jackie, both characters in the story who follow Alfhild from the human realm into the faerie realm. There are also several other interesting species besides human and fey, and several mythical beings from the old legends such as Jack of the Green and Jenny Greenteeth. Some very interesting characters to be sure! The unconventional methods by which Alfhild attempts to bring victory to the Unseelie Court in their never-ending battle with the Seelie is quite entertaining (she's such a ditz! LOL) and didn't follow any of the preconceived formulas of other stories I've read.

According to an online interview with Meredith, this book started it's life as a NaNoWriMo project which grew into three separate self-published novels. These three novels were then later combined to become the single book it is now. During my reading, I actually did find myself thinking this seemed to be quite a long book, though reading on my Kindle I couldn't quite give a specific page count. If I were to hedge a guess though, I'd have to say it would probably be over 400 print pages. The finished product could have done with a bit more editing before being released however as there were some incidents of bad grammar and awkward sentence structure, and even a few conflicting facts within the story itself which, for an obsessive reader like me, detracted a bit from the enjoyability of the reading. For future books, I'd like to see a bit more foreshadowing, allowing the reader to speculate a bit. Instead, it often seemed the facts were laid down as they happened, leaving little room for such speculation. But I truly believe some of these skills will come with more experience as a writer. And despite these minor drawbacks, I did enjoy the story overall, particularly for the differences cited above which allowed it to stand out from the crowd.

If you enjoy a good faerie story, you should enjoy this as well, and can pick up a copy for your Kindle from Amazon, or directly from Drollerie Press in one of several other ebook formats.