'Demon Inside' Megan Chase #2 by Stacia Kane

From the BLURB:

Hanging out with demons can be hell....

It's been three months since psychologist Megan Chase made the stunning discovery that the world is filled with demons, and once more the situation is too hot to handle. Ironically, Megan -- the only person in the world without a little personal demon sitting on her shoulder -- has become the leader of a demon "family," but now some unknown arcane power is offing her demons in a particularly unpleasant fashion. And while her demon lover Greyson Dante is still driving her wild with desire, he's also acting strangely evasive.

Then there's the truth about Megan's past -- the truth she's never known. Caught between personal problems and personal demons, Megan is having one hell of a hard time. Will the help of her Cockney guard demons and her witch friend Tera be enough so that Megan can finally resolve the past, survive the present, and face the future?

Megan is experiencing some leadership problems. She has taken over a crew of ‘personal demons’ – the little lizard-like cretins who invisibly sit on people’s shoulders and encourage them to do bad things. But since becoming their ‘queen’ she has met with open hostility – her demons are unhappy with her managerial techniques, and disgruntled by her preoccupation with humanity . . . and Megan’s kinda-boyfriend, Greyson Dante, is just as unhappy with her stubborn human streak.

Meanwhile, Megan has received some disturbing news. Her estranged father has passed away and her cold-hearted mother is ordering Megan’s appearance for the reading of the will. Turns out, daddy dearest has left Megan a nice little surprise from the after life – the deed to the mental hospital where Megan spent her formative years.

In this second installment to Stacia Kane’s ‘Megan Chase’ urban fantasy series, our female heroine learns the truth about her past, and the demon inside her.

I love Stacia Kane, and I’m thoroughly enjoying her ‘Megan Chase’ series. This second book is a wonderful delve into Megan’s character. We really get an all-encompassing examination of her childhood and home life; and it’s disturbingly Freudian. No wonder Megan went on to become a psychiatrist. This is also a nice little riff on ‘personal demons’ – both literal and mental as Megan explores the myriad of ways she has suppressed her own childhood anguish.

While ‘Demon Inside’ is a wonderful Megan exposè, it’s not such a great book for romantic development. Since their fiery coupling in ‘Personal Demons’, this second installment sees Megan and Greyson Dante co-habiting in a strangely undefined romantic liaison. Their romance is hampered by the need to keep up appearances in the ever vigil and circumspect demon world – but Megan is also careful not to put labels or boundaries on their ‘relationship’ because she gets the feeling that Greyson isn’t permanent. She is well aware of his Lothario reputation and thinks that means they are a casual fling – for all Megan knows, she is just one of many ladies on Greyson’s current dance card.

But Megan’s blasé attitude is at odds with her outward affection for Greyson, and vice versa. They do share some very steamy and intimate scenes;

She put her hand on his arm, drawing his gaze. “This is a big deal for you, isn’t it? Not just for the prestige, but for you.”
He stopped smiling when his eyes met hers. The rest of the room seemed to fade away. “It’s what I've worked for all my life.”
Even with her heels on, she had to stand on tiptoe to kiss him. Just a quick press of her lips, nothing inappropriate for the sombre occasion, but enough to send tingles all the way down her spine. It was like kissing a live wire.
“Congratulations.”

And yet, Megan remains determined to keep up the pretence of ‘easy, breezy, casual girlfriend’. Considering she’s a psychiatrist, it seemed like a very obvious oversight for Megan to deliberately avoid talking about her romantic feelings towards Greyson. I mean, I can understand her repressing childhood memories – but being stubbornly tight-lipped about her romance status was too much of an elephant in the room. Mind you, I did appreciate the fact that Megan is just human – demon inside aside, and her psychiatrist title; it was sort of nice of Kane to show that even someone who deals with everyone else’s problems can’t quite grasp her own.

But for that reason ‘Demon Inside’ felt like it had a hole in it. Greyson takes up so much of the book that the lack of romantic context for him and Megan started to feel uncomfortable. Still, I’m enjoying this helter-skelter urban fantasy and am excited to be approaching the finale. Bring it on!

4/5

'Personal Demons' Megan Chase #1 by Stacia Kane

From the BLURB:

Megan promises listeners to her new radio call-in show that she'll "slay their personal demons," and they believe her. So do the personal demons... although she doesn't know it, Megan is the only human without a demon on her shoulder! Megan and her allies - a demon lover who both protects and seduces her with devilish intensity, a witch with poor social skills, and three cockney guard demons - have to deal not only with the personal demons, but a soul-sucker, ghosts of Megan's past, and a reporter who threatens to destroy Megan's career!

Megan Chase is on a roll. She has just made her on-air radio debut as the ‘Demon Slayer’ psychiatrist – answering calls and offering help over the airwaves. Her practice is doing well and while she has no social life to speak of, she’s happy. Her radio show is sure to be a smash-hit, and not just because of Megan’s charming on-air voice – you see, Megan has the added psychiatric benefit of being a telepath. She is able to read other people’s minds, even able to pick up on images and emotions over the telephone. Her radio show is going to be a ratings-bonanza!

So it makes sense that everything should come crashing down around her.

A local reporter called Brian is writing a ‘week in the life of’ article. But Megan’s stardom is quickly doused when an anonymous note points Brian in the direction of Megan’s horrific childhood secret . . .

Then a mysterious (and sexy) man called Greyson Dante starts popping up everywhere. He’s suave and sophisticated, no doubt a lawyer, and he is hell-bent on getting to know Megan and persuading her not to accept any offers or deals that come her way. . .

But Greyson isn’t just interested in Megan for legal purposes. Greyson has much more nefarious purposes . . . like convincing Megan that her catchy ‘Demon Slayer’ radio show has attracted the wrong kinds of attention from the denizens of hell.

“Demons.”

“Excuse me?”

“Demons.” He made another right turn. They were already in her neighbourhood.

Megan thought carefully about how to phrase her next sentence. “You’re telling me you believe you’re a demon.”

“I don’t believe anything,” he said. “And I’m not one of your patients. Don’t speak to me as if I am.”

“You might want to consider getting some psychiatric help, if you think you’re a demon.”

“I don’t think I am, I know I am. And you need to know it too.”

This should be good. “Why?”

“Because a considerable number of us are after you.”

‘Personal Demons’ is the first book in Stacia Kane’s first paranormal series, ‘Megan Chase’.

Sine reading (and falling in love with) Kane’s ‘Downside’ series, it only made sense that I back-track and read her first forays into the supernatural. ‘Personal Demons’ was first published in 2008, and is a trilogy that concluded last year.

The universe of ‘Megan Chase’ is a psychedelic/supernatural one. Megan is a humble psychiatrist, becoming a rising star in the radio world. All well and normal, except that Megan is no ordinary shrink . . . she has the added benefit of being able to read her patient’s minds. Megan is of the belief that her abilities are the strangest thing in the universe . . . until Greyson Dante enters her life and informs her that demons exist, and are none too impressed with her ‘Demon Slayer’ radio gimmick.

I loved Kane’s blend of normal/paranormal. She writes a wonderfully slow-seeping of the weird and wacky . . . it’s only once Megan is informed of demon existence that she starts seeing them everywhere. Little bald reptilian-like creatures that sit perched on people’s shoulders – encouraging them to do bad, nefarious things. It puts a whole new spin on Megan’s psychiatry background, and has her questioning everyone’s motives and free will when ‘personal demons’ are whispering in their ears.

There is a larger plot working throughout the story . . . regarding an all-powerful demonic Hell reject who has taken a special interest in Megan and her abilities. I wasn’t overly impressed with this storyline, mostly because it seemed messy and convenient. On the one hand, there’s an event from Megan’s childhood which is only just impacting her now . . . and it seems to have all (randomly?) come to the fore because some PR person dreamt up the ‘Demon Slayer’ title for her radio show. If these flimsy connections were ever explained, I must have blinked and missed it . . . otherwise it seemed like sloppy connect-the-dots. But that was my only complaint about this otherwise lovely book.

Of course, being a big Chess and Terrible fan, I had high-hopes for a similarly steamy coupling in her original supernatural series. Thankfully, Kane delivers. Greyson Dante is a fire demon sent to protect Megan for (as yet) unknown reasons. He’s gorgeous and tempting, with protruding black scales and a smile to die for. He and Megan steam up the page and banter like crazy. A lot of their tension-filled lust comes from Megan being uneasy about Greyson’s demon-status. Megan (like readers) knows only of the traditional, Biblical demons – the religious villains of Hellish stories. Kane plays around with traditional demon-mythology, bending the rules and making Megan question her black and white ideas of ‘good’ and ‘evil’.

Kane also continues her tradition of complicated love affairs – Greyson and Megan will no doubt be put through the ringer in the next two books, for a variety of fiery reasons. I can’t wait to read the lust, the tension and the sizzling sex scenes!

I read ‘Personal Demons’ with a conscious effort to not expect a series that was as brilliant as ‘Downside’ . . . but honestly, I should have known to have more faith in Stacia Kane. Her original supernatural series is fun and flirty; putting the outlandish in the everyday and writing a hellishly sexy couple in Megan Chase and Greyson Dante. I can’t wait to finish this series and cement Kane as an automatic-buy author for me.

4/5

'Elemental Reality' by Cesya MaRae Cuono

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

When Callie Pierce was ten, her mother disappeared without a trace. On the eve of her disappearance twelve years later, the earth seemingly comes alive. The elements speak to Callie, and that's only the beginning. Everything she has ever known was a twisted fabrication to protect her. Now the truth is set free. Callie and her sister are more powerful than any Faerie ever born. Now they have to use their powers to save their mother and family from the evil hands of fate that threaten to tear them apart. Welcome to her elemental reality.

Callista ‘Callie’ Pierce hates birthdays. They are the day when she remembers her mother’s vanishing and the growing strangeness within her . . . but her 22nd birthday is shaping up to be better than the one’s before. Her best friends and blissfully happy couple, Ady and Emery, have thrown her a surprise party, complete with a night of dancing where Callie meets the dangerously sexy Cayden, and admires from afar her lovely Australian next-door-neighbour Oliver ‘Oli’.

But these two men in Callie’s life prove to be the harbingers of change. As Callie falls for Oli’s laid-back charm, she starts to notice those changes within herself grow and alter into something strange and other, something Fae. Along with her sister, Lola, Callie will learn more about her mother’s disappearance and where she sits caught in the middle of two worlds.

‘Elemental Reality’ is the debut YA novel from Cesya MaRae Cuono, and the first in a new paranormal romance series.

Not surprisingly, the cover art of ‘Elemental Reality’ was what hooked me. It’s stunningly unique and drool-worthy – eye-catching and hinting at fabulous supernatural shenanigans within. And the cover art does not lie.

‘Elemental Reality’ is a book about Fae or ‘fairies’ (faeries). It’s YA, but leaning towards the older end of the spectrum for 17+ readers with a protagonist whose 22. I loved that the book was oriented towards older-YA readers, a group who are often forgotten when books frequently have protagonists who can’t drink or drive and for whom sex is taboo. I loved this different age-range, because straight away the book is unique. There’s no ‘meeting in biology’ clichés or stealing lust-filled glances in the hallways. Phew! Cuono and Revolution Publishing seem very readership-savvy and understanding that as much as young adult is about ‘reading up’, it’s also a genre that older readers still enjoy coming back to.

The Fae storyline is very well done. It’s not a revolutionary subject (Melissa Marr, Maggie Stiefvater, Aprilynne Pike having charted this fictional territory) but I appreciated that Cuono didn’t get bogged down in Gaelic mythology or strict legendary Gothicism. She really put the fun into the fairy subject as Callie and Lola discover the joy of their powers and take their change in stride.

Something that did grate throughout the book was the poorly written Australian love interest, Oliver ‘Oli’. As an Aussie, I started out mildly amused by Oli’s clichéd speech and Paul Hogan-esque appeal. But it did get to the point where he was so far off the mark it became a little annoying. Take the exchange below, for example.

“Would you like to come in for some tea?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“It’s very nice to meet you too,” he said, looking like some Aussie God. “It’s a little too early for a cuppa tea isn’t it?”
“What?” I asked, confused. “It’s never too early for tea.”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “Sorry, I keep forgetting I’m not home anymore. When someone invites you over for tea in Australia it means supper. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these Yank customs.”

He’s invited inside for some tea thinking that Callie means ‘supper’ – yet he clarifies by calling it a ‘cuppa’ tea? ‘Cuppa’ means ‘cup of’ – so he’s assuming that Callie means “come inside for a cup of supper”. Um, huh? Never mind that I, as an Aussie, would never use the word ‘supper’ (what is this, the 1800s?) I would call it ‘dinner’ – and we call tea tea over here, plus if it was eleven o’clock in the morning why would he think this crazy American girl is offering him a really early-bird dinner instead of the hot leaf-based beverage his countrymen also refer to as ‘tea’? I know, a flippant little exchange – but those trip-ups were so far off the mark that it did give me pause and took me out of the story while I sat there trying to interpret this pigeon-Aussie-English. Not to mention it had me thinking Oli was a complete moron. He also used the word ‘sheila’ (only a backwoods sheep shearer or thoroughbred bogan would use this word . . . not a young Australian male) and called Callie ‘mate’ at every opportunity (Urgh. You never want a guy to call you ‘mate’, it means he doesn’t like you as anything other than a ‘mate’). And he said ‘Ace’ a lot . . . a lot! I think he was written purely for his Aussie appeal (I get it, people love the Aussie accent, and our guys are pretty smoking!) but his characterisation was that of an Aussie parody – written by someone who has never spoken to a living, breathing person from the land down under. Mind you, all of the above could be explained as Oli being Tasmanian . . . enough said.

Okay, so the love interest didn’t really gel for me – but it’s a testament to Cuono’s dramatic storytelling that even when the very important ‘romance’ element of this paranormal romance didn’t work for me, I still came away from this book with a smile on my face.

Cuono writes high drama for her protagonists’ with a joyful supernatural bent. There are twists and turns through the plot, as Callie learns of the price she must pay for being different. I loved that this was a book for older young adult readers, who are often an after-thought in a genre that is only just starting to realize it has a varying readership!

3/5

Waiting on Wednesday: 'Fair Game' by Patricia Briggs

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

TITLE: 'Fair Game' Alpha & Omega #3

AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs

RELEASE DATE: January 2012 / February 2nd 2012 ???

BLURB:

When the FBI request a pack consultant on a serial killer case they're following in Boston, Anna and Charles are sent in. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves – all of them were.

Someone is targeting their kind. And if Charles and Anna can't get to the bottom of this mystery, they may be next...

I am cra-cra for this book release! Especially because Ms Briggs has (understandably) cut back to only one book release a year - which means 2012 we will be without Mercy.
I'm not going to lie, it will be tough. Especially since things got to a really good place with Mercy and Adam in 'River Marked' - I (and many fans) cannot wait to read about their loved-up marital bliss.

However. I am also a BIG Charles Cornick fan, and I am a HUGE Charles & Anna shipper. It has been ages since we last read about this unlikely duo (not since 'Hunting Ground' way back in 2009!) - it's high time we revisited this pair.

The cover art is (as always) to-die-for, courtesy of Daniel Dos Santos. I have been keeping track of Mike Briggs's blog posts concerning Patty's progress with 'Fair Game' - and it sounds like this hasn't been an easy book to write. But that makes things all the more intriguing.

I'm a little perplexed with release date discrepancies - on Briggs's site it's down as a firm January 2012, but Goodreads has it has February 2nd. The optimist in me is choosing to believe Briggs's website.

Anyway. I can't wait for this book. Mercy went out on a bang this year, to mark her hiatus - now let 2012 be the year of Charles & Anna!

'Beautiful Days' Bright Young Things #2 by Anna Godbersen

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

It’s the last summer of the Jazz Age and the bright young things of New York are revelling in beautiful days and glittering nights.

LETTY LARKSPUR has shaken off her smalltown origins and is set to chase her Broadway dream no matter what the cost.

CORDELLA GREY is reeling from the tragedy that's befallen her new-found family but she won't let it hold her back.

ASTRID DONAL is leading a dazzling life but her liaison with a gangster could threaten everything she holds dear.

And how!

The year is 1929 and small-time Ohio girls, Letty and Cordelia, have turned into society darlings and found their place in the Big Apple. But the girls want more, not content to spend their days lounging by the pool and their nights filled with hot music and lovely men.

Letty intends to pursue her Broadway dream, and she’ll do just about anything to see her name up in lights.

Cordelia has already lost so much that she won’t turn down the opportunity of a lifetime – running her very own speakeasy.

Meanwhile, socialite-born Astrid Donal has always been discontent with her life of luxury. When a different class of man catches her eye, she’ll find herself playing a dangerous game.

‘Beautiful Days’ is the second book in Anna Godbersen’s 1920’s historical YA series, ‘Bright Young Things’.

Baby grand

I loved the first book in Godbersen’s series, ‘Bright Young Things’. So I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of her second book in the mail. . . and I was over-the-moon to read that this second instalment is more glitzy gorgeousness! But where ‘Bright Young Things’ was all about introducing the girls to the wonders of New York, ‘Beautiful Days’ has an underlying thread of sin and decaying decadence that makes this second novel even better.

‘Beautiful Days’ is still set in 1929, but it’s a book at the brink of the Jazz Age. Prohibition is enforced in the States which is the national ban on the sale, manufacturing and distribution of alcohol. The government tried to curtail the dangerous medical, political, economic and social ramifications of drinking by banning it completely. Medical discoveries were warning people to the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, the US government wanted to curtail money flow from Germany (where most beer was imported from) and American families were seen to be hurting from the ramifications of alcohol abuse.

The novel picks up from where ‘BYT’ left off. Cordelia is nursing heartbreak, and intent on becoming career-focused. So when she is given the opportunity to run her very own speakeasy, she jumps at the daunting task. A speakeasy was an establishment that illegally distributed alcohol during the time of prohibition – a dangerous undertaking when Federal Prohibition agents were dedicated to the task of eliminating bootleggers. And double dangerous when the entire bootlegging economy was owned and operated by gangsters – such as Al Capone.

Meanwhile, Astrid is becoming equally embroiled in the sinister Manhattan underbelly of gangsters when she enters into a relationship with Cordelia’s half-brother, Charlie.

I loved how the three girl’s lives have becoming infinitely more complicated since they stepped out in ‘BYT’. Their destinies are becoming irrevocably entwined in the Jazz Age history, and I can’t wait to see where their dangerous decisions take them. . .

My one small complaint was that, when compared to Cordelia and Astrid’s interesting lives, Letty comes across with the less-thrilling storyline. She’s living the up’s and down’s of a struggling Broadway star – and while she has the most relatable storyline (complete with pitfalls in love), as a history-buff I found myself more invested in Cordelia and Astrid’s stories.

Hoary-eyed

One thing I love about the ‘Bright Young Things’ series is Godbersen’s incredible hark-back storytelling. Manhattan in 1929 is living a glamorous, jazzed life of careless partying and dangerous double-dealing. But right around the corner is the stock market crash and Great Depression that will see American’s live the next decade in an abysmal antithesis to the current Jazz Age decadence.

Godbersen does a fabulous job at foreboding the Depression. It’s in the little things like setting and metaphor that Godbersen lets the creep of disaster set into the partying lifestyles of her protagonist’s . . . the perfect example is when Cordelia visits the future setting of her speakeasy; a run-down old bank. How brilliant and foretelling that the scene of her raucous bootlegging business will be the husk of an abandoned bank – a most sinister and telling glimpse of the future to come at the end of the Jazz Age.

Their destination was in the middle of a block in the West Fifties, the floors of which were mosaic swirls of turquoise and gold, far below an arching ceiling that had once been covered with murals of cherubs and clouds. That the paint on the ceiling had begun to chip and fall away and expose the stone and plaster beneath only added to the mystery and beauty of the vast room. Either wall was flanked with windows covered by iron grates that opened onto other darkened rooms, and at the end were elaborate double copper doors.
“What was this?” Cordelia gasped.
“A bank, of course.” Charlie’s footsteps echoed as he moved across the floor.

Choice bit of Calico

Anna Godbersen’s ‘Bright Young Things’ young adult historical series is Gatsby meets Gossip Girl and utterly brilliant. Having devoured the new HBO ‘Boardwalk Empire’ TV show, this series holds even more fascination for me. It’s especially interesting as Godbersen gears her series up for the end of the Jazz Age – there’s a feeling throughout ‘Beautiful Days’ of foreboding and imminent disaster. I wonder what will happen when the champagne stops flowing, the gangsters lose their bluster and these three girls find themselves in the aftermath of glutony? I can’t wait!

5/5

'One Grave at a Time' Night Huntress #6 by Jeaniene Frost

From the BLURB:

The grave is one wrong step away.

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans' voodoo queen just keeps on giving--leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity--forever. But how do you kill a killer who's already long dead?

In the lead up to All Hallows Eve, a misogynistic ghost plans to kidnap and kill three ‘witch’ women . . . but not if the Red Reaper, Cat Crawfield and her husband, Bones, have anything to say about it.

Heinrich Kramer was a bad man in life and has become downright evil in death. When Cat’s ghost friend, Fabian, introduces Cat to one of Kramer’s old victims (now a ghost herself) she and Bones know they cannot let this ghost murder more innocent’s.

Meanwhile, Cat’s old government squad of supernatural fighters is under new management – a Homeland Security moron called Jason Madigan. The new team leader is keeping secrets and combating Cat’s mind-reading with annoying infomercials. . . and he really, really doesn’t like vampires. Tricky, since the best in his team are members of the undead under Bones’s protection.

‘One Grave at a Time’ is the sixth book in Jeaniene Frost’s ‘Night Huntress’ series.

Okay. So, I didn’t love this instalment in one of my favourite paranormal series. I didn’t have the best time with fifth book, ‘This Side of the Grave’, and I was disappointed to read that many of the problems I had with that book are carried over into this one. . .

What frustrated me was that Jeaniene Frost pin-points the problem very early on in the book. Once we learn that Cat’s deceased uncle, Don, is still hanging around as a ghostly apparition and the new team boss, Madigan, is a Homeland henchman with a grudge against vamps . . . Cat notes that Bones isn’t really too disturbed by their piling problems, and he quite succinctly explains his blasé attitude;

“You seem pretty relaxed about this whole situation,” I said with mild exasperation, noting the nonchalance in his tone and vibe.

Bones all but rolled his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be? For the first time in years, our relationship is solid, no one’s actively trying to murder us, and our closest mates are happy. Blimey, Kitten, if I were any more relaxed, I'd need a smoke.”

Yep. That about sums it up, now hand me a cigarette.

What used to make Jeaniene Frost’s series unique and a titillating treat for fans was her protagonist’s instant attraction. When everyone else in urban fantasy / paranormal romance was hell-bent on the build-up and ‘will-they-or-won’t-they’, Frost gave us ‘they will’ with heapings of loved-up bliss. Kate and Curran took four books to seal their mating. Adam and Mercy didn’t get hitched until the sixth book. Fans loved and loathed the tension of those relationships – but we revelled in Cat and Bones’s guaranteed love, established in book one and maintained (with a few minor hurdles) throughout the series.

Now, it would seem, fans are reading the pitfalls of continuing a story after ‘happily ever after’. The main problem, for me at least, was the plot-heavy focus on drama and action with little tension between the relationship development of Cat and Bones.

Yes, the Heinrich Kramer plot is chill-inducing and interesting. He’s a raping misogynistic ghost who can become corporeal on All Hallows Eve when he wreaks vengeance on ‘disgusting’ females. Great villain, plenty of action and drama. But to balance out that fairly heavy and sinister plot, I felt like ‘One Grave’ needed more love from Cat and Bones and more development from secondary characters.

I miss the Cat and Bones drama. I miss Cat’s jealousy over Bone’s sex-filled past, and Bones’s constant combat against Cat’s independent streak. I miss the sex! When Cat and Bones had all these emotional tug-of-wars with each other, it ended up in the bedroom with some interesting and heated couplings. Now, in their staid wedded bliss, they try to spice things up with some weird sexual adventures . . . but it doesn’t have the same heat as their Chapter 32 loving after Cat learnt of Bones’s heartbroken bedroom shenanigans with Annette. I don’t know what Cat and Bones need, at this point. We have at least two more books with them, and I don’t know how Frost can spice them up now. Dare I say, an amnesiac plot might be needed to start their relationship back at 0? (I’m sure she could do better than True Blood’s Emo Eric this season!).

Missing from this book are my three favourite secondary players – Vlad, Mencheres and his wife, Kira. Vlad, I can kind of understand, since he’s getting his own spin-off ‘Night Prince’ series and Frost probably doesn’t want to inundate us with him. But Mencheres and Kira haven’t really made a substantial appearance since their book ‘Eternal Kiss of Darkness’ when Kira was crowned as Menchere’s wife and intent on becoming a sort of vampiric policewoman. I know they’ve had small cameos in book #5, but I would love to revisit their relationship at length and gauge where it’s at now. Instead, we get Spade and Denise, Cat’s mother Justina and Bones’s best-buddy, Ian. Now, I’m not a fan of Denise and Spade, I find them lukewarm at best and dull at worst. Cat’s mother is a more interesting character, as a vampire-hating human who is now a vampire.

The one character who worked, whole-heartedly, for me in this book was Ian. I love Ian. Love, love, love! He’s all snark and sexy man-whore who I think has a lot going on underneath. Ian’s made even better in this book when a human psychic called Tyler gets a very big crush on him. I don’t know where Frost intends to take Ian’s character – my hope is for a ‘Night Huntress World’ spin-off, because I think it would be fascinating to read whoever captures Ian’s heart and stops his Lothario ways. I have an inkling it might be Justina, judging by some interactions in ‘One Grave’ – I’m not in love with that idea, only because I can’t picture Justina as a sexual being. It’s too weird as she’s Cat’s mum who has been an almost-villain in previous books. I just want more Ian. More, more, more!

What else worked for me in this book was the Jason Madigan storyline. This is shaping up to be a very big plot arc – one that could bring Cat and Bones back into the government taskforce fold (which would mean more Tate and Juan! YIPPEE!). Madigan is an annoying and conniving paper-pusher, and I can’t wait to read where Frost takes this storyline.

Overall, ‘One Grave at a Time’ wasn’t a great instalment for me. I think I’m starting to read the pitfalls of a tensionless happy coupling, and it makes me uneasy for what’s to come in future ‘Night Huntress’ books if it’s more of the same. I did LOVE Ian in ‘One Grave’, and I am intrigued by a new arc that looks to take Cat back to the government . . .

2.5/5

'Undead and Unworthy' Undead: Queen Betsy #7 by MaryJanice Davidson

From the BLURB:

"No one does humorous romantic fantasy better than the incomparable MaryJanice Davidson" (The Best Reviews), and nobody reigns over the undead with more savvy than her heroine Betsy Taylor, back to rule the nights as Vampire Queen--and survive the days as a new suburban bride. But it's not all marital bliss. Betsy's husband, Sinclair, has been perusingThe Book of the Dead, Betsy's being hounded by a ghost who's even more insufferable in death than in life, and a pack of formerly feral vampires has decided to pay an unwelcome visit...

‘Undead and Unworthy’ is the seventh book in MaryJanice Davidson’s eclectically awesome ‘Undead; Queen Betsy’ paranormal series.

At the end of the sixth instalment, ‘Undead and Uneasy’, Davidson mentioned in an author’s note that the next few books in the ‘Queen Betsy’ series would be focusing on a new plot trajectory, like a mini-trilogy within the already established series.

‘Undead and Unworthy’ in many ways stays true to the good old Betsy. She has many of the same problems – a sultry and conniving husband, vampire minions she doesn’t know what to do with and a vampiric kingdom she’s not entirely sure she’s equipped to run. But Betsy is also battling a few new issues – like married life to a husband who is keeping secrets, a rocky ‘friendship’ with her bestie’s boyfriend (who, admittedly, wants to kill her). Not to mention an old problem is coming back to haunt the queen . . . the ‘Fiends’, dazed and wild vampire barbarians, are back and somewhat lucid while also homicidally intent on killing Betsy.

There’s certainly a lot happening in this book, and it does feel transitional. Davidson is putting a few old storylines to rest, while gearing up for a whole new trajectory for Betsy and co.

I was about to elaborate, when the front door was slammed open and an all-too-familiar voice greeted us with, “What the hell is going on? I leave this shitheap for three days, and the fuckin’ Fiends are loose, my boyfriend’s practically catatonic, and the smelliest bitch I've ever fuckin’ seen practically ran me down on the porch! Not to mention I nearly got into a fender bender with the devil who looks like Miss Fuckin’ February! Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell is going on?”

Antonia the werewolf was home.

Something I am looking forward to in future books is Betsy and Sinclair’s evolving relationship. In this book Betsy has a lot to deal with, and she does wonder if Sinclair will be comfortable and willing to put up with her many mini-disasters . . . though they are married, it’s obvious that Sinclair and Betsy have a lot to work on. Neither of them is prone to outpouring of emotions or long, romantic diatribes. But there is clear affection between the two and I am eager to read how Davidson explores their relationship while staying true to their prickly dispositions and outlandish characters.

‘Undead and Unworthy’ is perhaps the darkest ‘Queen Betsy’ book so far. There’s death and foreboding, and Betsy is questioning the danger her future holds while concerned for those closest to her. I was quite shocked by the finale of this book – it’s sad and bloody and definitely ends on a note of sombreness that the ‘Queen Betsy’ series is unused to. But I like this new trajectory that Davidson is taking fans on . . . Betsy is manning up and taking responsibility while managing to remain fabulous.

5/5