Patricia Briggs: Silver Borne

• ISBN-13: 9780441019960
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Publication date: 1/25/2011
• Series: Mercy Thompson Series , #5
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Pages: 304

 When Mercy Thompson, mechanic and shape-shifter, attempts to return a powerful fae book she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. 
 It seems the book contains secrets - and the fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side - leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel's life forfeit. 
 All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she may not have many more... 
 Mercy Thompson is, hands down, one of my favorite heroines of all time. OF ALL TIME. She's badass, she's brave, she's independent. But in this book she learns something else that we haven't really seen from her yet: she learns that it's okay to lean on someone else and be the weak one for a while. Having spent the last four months immersed in Supernatural, I find this message particularly meaningful after watching Dean Winchester struggle to take all the blame and responsibility of the world on his own shoulders and sacrifice himself for others time and again. OKAY that went where it wasn't meant to go, but the point is, I appreciated Mercy's development all the more because of my Supernatural feels.
 In this installment of her saga, Mercy's dealing with pack and fae bullshit. The pack, being a bunch of mostly old-fashioned dogs, essentially, are having a little trouble accepting a coyote shifter as their Alpha's mate. Since Adam and Mercy are still on precarious ground after her rape of two novels ago, they haven't really taken the time to figure out the dynamics of the magical pack bond that Mercy now has to deal with. Prime time for messing with Mercy's head. Throw in Samuel's mental breakdown (he's very old and very lonely) and you have a recipe for oh-man. And a major plot twist for our favorite white wolf toward the end.
 Also, the fae are after her, again. Although it's not the Gray Lords and it's not a group of fae so much as it's one fae in particular throwing a wretch of a wrench into her life, so that's a plus. Zee's son, Tad, asks Mercy to check in on a mutual friend, and hijinks naturally ensue.
 As I've already kind of intimated, the developing relationship between Mercy and Adam is my favorite part of this novel. Every time something happens to Mercy, Adam climbs the walls and has a freak out, and I, damsel at heart that I am, love to see a man lose his cool when his love is in danger. And since he's a wolf, that means a whole lot more. He has a few this novel, mostly because of the issues with the pack bond, but Mercy handles them supremely and actually talks it out with him, which is a major step in any relationship. So rah-rah on that front. AND BRAN AND CHARLES. They show up briefly and basically any chance to see Bran has me cheering from the rafters.
 Overall: A
 It wasn't as completely action packed as the other novels, but it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat with a ton of "will-he-or-won't-he" situations. Or she. There were a lot. The mystery also had an interesting twist.

Charlaine Harris: Dead to the World

• ISBN-13: 9780441012183
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Publication date: 5/5/2005
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition description: Reprint
• Pages: 320

  It's not every day that you come across a naked man on the side of the road. That's why cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse doesn't just drive by. Turns out the poor thing hasn't a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It's Eric the vampire - but now he's a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into who and why leads straight into a dangerous battle among witches, vampires, and werewolves. But a greater danger could be to Sookie's heart - because this version of Eric is very difficult to resist...

 Sookeh and Beel are still on the rocks, and it's looking pretty perminent considering the distinct lack of Beel in this novel. He basically makes an appearance at the beginning to announce he's not going to be in this novel overmuch, and then at the end to help keep everybody from dying. Thanks, bro. Other than that, this installment is all about Sookie and the suddenly-memoryless Eric. 
 There's a new brood of witches in town, and I was shocked at how little they were actually in town. They are threatening basically the entire supernatural community of the area surrounding Bon Temps, yet they are easily dispersed at the end of the novel, and, frankly, don't seem terribly threatening to the actual supernatural community. They just feel more bitchy to me. But personal opinions are personal. I was actually kind of proud of Sookie in this novel. She put on her big-girl britches and managed to take care of all the people she had promised (to herself) she would. She stepped into her adult shoes with a little more eagerness than I was anticipating in certain areas, though. Can we all agree to acknowledge that she does sleep with Eric in this novel, since season four or whatever of True Blood basically follows this novel, and I think anyone who's ever heard anything about True Blood knows this. Okay, that's out of the way. She jumps into bed with him awful quick, though. Surprising. But you go, girl.
 We also have the introduction of some new characters that I feel will be around for quite a bit, namely the Hotshot community of shapeshifters. I kind of really like Calvin, although I couldn't tell you why, distinctly. He just seems really...cool. He also hits on Sookie with determination, and not because he likes her sparkling personality. I like that, and it makes me laugh a little. He's a strong leader and takes care of the shit his people deal out with no problem. I generally have a problem with characters in leadership positions who refuse to discipline their people or acknowledge their wrongdoing. No problem with that here. Bravo.
 Finally, we have Jason being less of an ass than usual, but that's through a lack of presence, really. His one significant contribution to the novel, taken under his own will, was a total ass-hat move that he portrayed as being in Sookie's interest, but was really just him being a greedy bitch. 
 Another character I really enjoyed this time - Pam. Pam is righteous, and the only fault I can find is in her choice of clothing. No pink, Pam. You're better than that. I like the relationship she and Sookie are developing, although it's still in its infancy. I'm expecting some entertaining hi-jinks out of these two, Ms. Harris. And as much as I hate to return to an earlier subject, since it suggests that my review doesn't have good form, I'm also excited for the developing romance of Sookie and Eric. We got a glimpse of what he might once have been, and might still be somewhere inside that heap of ego. He has potential. 
 Overall: A
 It was a great read without annoying me even once. And it brought a lot of ideas and potentialities between the characters to the forefront, making me anticipate the forthcoming novels more than ever before. The action was a little lacking, though, and seemed somewhat anti-climactic at the end. Oh well, you can't have everything.

Laurell K Hamilton: Cerulean Sins

• ISBN-13: 9780515136814
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Publication date: 9/28/2004
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Pages: 560

How the mighty have fallen! Once a sworn enemy of all monsters, Anita is now the human consort of both Jean-Claude, the Master Vampire, and Michah, the leopard shape-shifter. Not quite as human she once was, she is consumed by both their hungers - desires that must be sated time and time again. And when a centuries-old vampire targets Jean-Claude and his clan, Anita finds herself tested as never before - needing all the dark forces her passion can muster to save the ones she loves the most...

 Lord, are we ramping up the sex now. And it's only going to get worse, or so I hear. However, it hasn't gotten to the point that I don't see the point, as I've heard complained on various boards and Wikipedia and what have you. In this installment, Anita has to deal with Belle Mort's envoys, who have arrived in St. Louis before schedule. This, of course, throws Jean-Claude's court into a tizzy, and a slew of complicated vampire politics and relationships cause quite a bit of confusion for our ravishing heroine. (Can we just talk about how much I want Anita's hair? Just for a moment.  -  Okay, moment over.)
 Her issues are further complicated by our erstwhile friend Dolph going off the deep end because his son is marrying a vampire. His anger toward all things associated with "monsters" - Anita included - seriously hinder her ability to do her job when she's called onto a case. Much frustration ensues. And what a gruesome case. We've had gruesome before, which - to become truly disturbing - can only be found in paranormal fiction, since there are no boundaries of physics. For example, tearing apart a human to the point that all is left are bones and goo. A normal human can't do that without the aid of some type of machinery. Thus, the imagination is given limitless opportunity. It's a little twisted that this is what the mind comes up with when there are no restrictions, but that's a subject for a different discussion.
 Anita also adds another suitor to her growing list of guys she's slept with. Possibly two, but I'm not counting non-penetration. Are you? I won't tell you who it is, but it becomes abundantly obvious. Obviously. We also have a return of who I like to call piss-ant-Richard. He is the one incredibly obnoxious part of this series. I started off liking him a lot, but as time has gone and he has failed to adapt to circumstances or even make a lame attempt at an understanding attitude, he has become more and more distasteful. He doesn't change much in this installment. I will give him kudos for coming to Anita's aid on one occasion, but as he follows that with a colossal act of blatant, stubborn stupidity, it kind of cancels that out. I think Anita just needs to punch him in the face or do something else violent to put him in his place. I feel like it's only going to get worse, and from what I've read of future books, I'm not far off.
 Overall: B+
 The Anita Blake series is not going downhill, at least not to the extent I've heard. I think it's still incredibly entertaining and interesting, although Hamilton is increasingly falling to her own personal curse of too much action in too short a time. We have a lot of things going on, and it seems like more time should be passing, only to realize that the day isn't even over. In fact, I think the events in this book take place over a mere two or three days. But the fact that you barely notice says much more about the attention-grabbing power of these novels. I sincerely hope I always enjoy these books as I have been. 

Patricia Briggs: Bone Crossed

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Reprint edition (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044101836X

 As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, ace car mechanic Mercy has had to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human within the Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington on more than one occasion. But this time, she may be in over her head.
Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan. Now she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from the vampire's direct reprisal by the werewolf pack - and her close relationship with its sexy Alpha - it's not Mercy's blood Marsilia is after...
It's her friends'.

 I really like Mercy Thompson. She's saucy, and fierce without being some uber-powerful super-being, and she's got a non-standard heroine job: she's a mechanic. How awesome is that? I will probably address her basic characterization in more depth when I go back and re-read the earlier books, but since this is the first I've done on this blog, I felt I should start with a little something about her.
 In this books, we're still dealing with the repercussions of the events of the previous books, obviously. One cannot suffer rape and forget it in a week. I'm surprised Mercy is doing as well as she is at this point, but that largely comes from being an incredibly strong individual and from having completely destroyed her attacker. Major kudos to Mercy. As a natural part of coming to terms with what happened, she is having difficulties becoming intimate with Adam. I love that Briggs didn't have Mercy run into the arms of the big strong man, and allow his tender love to heal all her wounds. No, she had to deal with the fear she suffered, even from someone she trusted as much as Adam.
 Aside from this, she's also dealing with the consequences of killing Andre, the vampire madam of the Tri-Cities' pet vampire. Granted, he was a total nutjub, but in this world vampires are not necessarily reasonable. Just incredibly territorial. In order to escape Marsilia's clutches and give the werewolves time to try to smooth out the situation, Mercy goes to help an old college friend with her ghost problem.
 Obviously there is a lot going on in this novel. Possibly too much. You start thinking that the ghost problem is connected with the vampire problem, then it turns out it's not. I'm sure we'll see that developing further in the coming books, but it's still kind of hurriedly thrown in there, almost like she didn't really have a plan for a stand alone plot for this book other than tying up loose ends from others. The ghost/vampire angle was her main plot for this book. While it became interesting at the end, it felt a little half-assed to me.
 The relationships are quite solidified at this point. We're all pretty sure that Mercy is going to end up with Adam, but it still remains to be seen how the emotionally unstable Samuel will deal with it. I also love that Ben and Mercy have bonded, and he's now kind of her biggest fan. Even though Ben was sort of an ass when we first met him, for some reason I still loved him, and I think it's because I saw the potential for this to happen. He really gave Mercy her spirit back in the last book, and we love him for it. Stefan also became massively cooler, I think. With his Mystery Inc. van, I always pictured him as sort of a hippie, but now he's a total badass. His loyalty to Mercy could bode a future interest in her romantically, if it's not there already, but since we know she's with Adam, it's not going to pan out. But doesn't it still make us feel good to have that person who loves us and would protect us without expecting anything in return? Stefan is that guy, I think, and I've become quite fond of him.
 Overall: A-
 Was this my favorite of the series? No, not really, no. Not at all actually. Yes, it was packed with a lot of stuff going on, but it wasn't really cohesive and it didn't all quite come together in the end. But Briggs did wonders with the relationships between characters, and I appreciate her all the more for that. So it's not getting an A or an A+ but it's definitely a solid A-.

Jim Butcher: Fool Moon

• Print Length: 356 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0451458125
• Publisher: Roc (January 1, 2001)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane.
But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.
A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses - and the first two don't count... 

 This installment of the Dresden Files was infinitely better than the previous/first one. I'm going to attribute the change to a more developed writer and the lack of the necessity to completely create a new world. Now that we've spent some time with Harry Dresden, we can immerse ourselves in the story and focus more on plot and character development.
  In Fool Moon, Harry must deal with a break down in his friendship with Murphy, his police bestie. That, in and of itself, irritated me although I can see why it was a necessary evil. Still, you would think that the brilliant Special Investigations cop who seems to believe in the possibility of another world would be discerning enough to see through coincidences and try to ask questions...but I digress. The plot was much better paced this time around. There multiple story lines, but they weren't so divergent that you felt like you were being jerked out of one story and into another. They came together in a cogent manner and worked well. The ending was action-packed and suitably full of crazy. I liked it a lot. I also felt the reader got to see more into Harry's character - we know him better. And we like him a lot more since we've seen the darkness that lurks inside. And yay for strong wizards - Harry was less bumbling and more badass which pleased me to no end.
  Furthermore, Susan's character saw more, and less obnoxious, air-time. I can see the relationship between her and Harry growing and deepening. No, I have no idea what's going to happen with them, but I think Butcher is setting them up for something grand.
  Overall: A
  The writing was much improved, as was character and plot development. The mystery was suitably mysterious and I didn't see the twist coming. (Well, sort of, but it was more...twisty.) Well done, Mr. Butcher, well done.