Review ~*~ The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson

Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Eos (February 27, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060898917
ISBN-13: 978-0060898915

I bought this book last year at a charity sale and it sat on my book shelf because all my local book stores did not have the following books in the series. I decided to read it for the new author challenge I'm participating in. I absolutely loved it! I loved the main character of Joanna Archer. She was feisty, spunky and intelligent. I really like how a lot of the female characters in urban fantasy/paranormal romance are portrayed as strong, independent, intelligent, spunky and feisty women.

Vicki Pettersson has totally broken away from the typical urban fantasy world. I was so shocked reading it that I had to re-read parts because I just wanted to make sure what I had read happened. I believe this is what makes a good writer when you have readers in disbelief! Joanna, the main character, comes to realize that she's part of an underground group of individuals that help keep Las Vegas safe. She is in fact the Archer of the Zodiac Troop of Light. There are two zodiac troops of tweleve one is Light (the good) and the other is Dark (the bad). Joanna's mother was a Light Zodiac and her father was a Dark Zodiac. She is a prized warrior in her own right and the first of her kind. The book is her transformation from Joanna the photographer to Joanna the warrior.

There was a bit of romance but honestly it could have been taken out and it would not have made much of a differnce . I kept hoping that Joanna would go back to Ben but it never happened. I will keep reading to see if she goes back to Ben in future books. Perhaps, this was her way to get readers to read more. Give us a little bit of romance and dangle it on a stick.

This book is definitely more urban fantasy than paranormal romance. Since the romance was only a tiny part of the story. The dark and mysterious world was too hard and gritty to lend itself to much romance.

It is so hard for me to review this book without giving too much of the plot away. It is such a balance between a book review and a book report. I would recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of Kim Harrison's series The Hollows. The writing of the alternate world is lush and full of description that makes you feel that you are there. I was never guessing of what exactly this "other" world looked like. The secondary characters were well introduced with a lot of room to get to know them better in future books.

The first novel in a series is usually hit or miss. JR Ward Dark Lover, was one that I didn't really like but continued to read the other books in the series which I'm glad I did. With The Scent of the Zodiac I will want to re-read it before I read the second book, since there is just so much description and so much going on that I felt like I missed things. I think with a second go of the novel I will enjoy it even better. For a first novel in a series I think it was better than most first novels. It was well paced and action packed. A good mix between dialogue, description and suspense. I gave it because I do like a little more romance in my books.

Review ~*~ Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn

Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley; 1st edition (October 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425212548
ISBN-13: 978-0425212547

Throughout my years of lurking on the amazon paranormal romance and urban fantasy boards one book series got mentioned over and over again. That series is The Otherworld or also called Sisters of the Moon by Yasmine Galenorn. At first I was a bit shocked at how short they were since I'm used to books that are close to 400 pages or more. However, once I started reading I realized how big of a punch her books really are. They may be shorter than the average novel but they are jammed packed with more description and characterization than most novels.

The first book is about Camille D'Artigo. One of the trio of sisters that are half-human and half-faerie. Not only are they of mixed blood but each sister also possesses a special extra identity to them. Camille, is also part witch where her spells sometimes work and sometimes don't. Delilah, is a shape shifter that shifts into cat form when stressed or upset. Menolly, is a vampire that is newly turned so she is still learning her way around the vampire world. All three of them are operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. I really felt that Galenorn really cared about her characters. That each character was imbued with something special from the author's world.

A giant has been murdered who was also an operation for OIA. The three sisters along with a sprite, human OIA operative, a dragon, and Morio are trying their hardest to figure out what has happened. It is suspected that demons are getting through to Earth. The secondary characters are very well developed with their own distinct personalities. So much so, you just want to read each book as fast as you can.

I did have a love hate relationship with Galenorn's description of what the characters were wearing. I liked knowing but would think does it really matter? But in the end it made the story better as a whole. You got so much detail that you really did feel like you were there. The story was very layered and textured. I loved that each sister had more than just their half-human/half-faerie identity.

I read a blog recently stating that it helps readers to compare books to other books. I don't think its possible for the world that Galenorn has created. It is so different with new insight into the paranormal/fantasy world that has been recreated by so many authors as of late. I will definitely recommend this book and the rest of the series to people. I did give it out of 5 babies because I was not wanting to read it 24/7 till I was finished. It was an excellent book but not as captivating as I had hoped.

This was a review by Aubrey Mac

Review~*~ Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

# Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
# Publisher: Avon (October 30, 2007)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0061245089
# ISBN-13: 978-0061245084

I really enjoyed this book and was laughing at parts but really I could not put it down. It is the first book in Jeaniene Frost 's The Night Huntress Series in which Cat is the main character. She is such a feisty and sassy person. She knew what she wanted and went after it not caring about what got in her way.

She is part vampire and part human. Her mother was raped by a vampire. She does not need to drink blood to survive but has extra abilities because of her part-vampire status. Her mother hates vampires which led to Cat becoming a vampire slayer. She was content killing vampires on the weekends till she met Bones. A vampire who knew what she was doing. They made a deal and became partners. Partners who became lovers.

Without giving up too much of the story line I will say that it was a great read. Frost interjected new life into vampire lore. However, I do think it took a bit too long for the romance to start. It took to page 159 before the romance started. It was not a bad thing that the romance took so long because it certainly kept me reading at a fast pace to figure out when it would happen.

I like the fact that Cat finally realizes that maybe vampires are not so bad after all. Considering that she is part vampire and dating one. Bones is the one who got her to see what she really does have instead of what she does not. Life for her is not as hard as she sees it.

The secondary characters were well thought out and funny as heck. I loved Timmie who was Cat's neighbour in her new apartment. He had the best line that gave her an epiphany about her relationship with Bones. Her mother would have not liked that she was dating a vampire and she told Timmie that she didn't like foreigners because she didn't want him to know she was in fact dating a vampire. He said Everyone's go something in them that somebody's going to have a problem with, but your mom should be more concerned about whether he makes you happy than where he's from. This quote simply means it doesn't matter if he's English or a vampire as long as she's happy everyone else should be too.

I read this book for the NAC Mini-Challenge: Battle Royale | Literary Escapism but would have read it anyways since it has been on my TBR pile for weeks. I'm glad I did and now I see what all the fuss was about. I will recommend this book to others and can't wait to read the rest in the series.

I'm giving this book 5 because it will be on to be read again shelf!