Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn

SYNOPSIS
Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas.


Kitty and Ben flee The City That Never Sleeps, thinking they were finished with the dangers there, but the sadistic cult of lycanthropes and their vampire priestess have laid a curse on Kitty in revenge for her disrupting their rituals. Starting at the next full moon, danger and destruction the form of fire strikes Kitty and the pack of werewolves she's sworn to protect.


She enlists the help of a group of TV paranormal investigators - one of whom has real psychic abilities - to help her get to the bottom of the curse that's been laid on her. Rick, the Master vampire of Denver, believes a deeper plot lies behind the curse, and he and Kitty argue about whether or not to accept the help of a professional demon hunter - and vampire - named Roman, who arrives a little too conveniently in the nick of time.


Unable to rely on Rick, and unwilling to accept Roman's offer of help for a price, Kitty and her band of allies, including Vegas magician Odysseus Grant and Kitty's own radio audience, mount a trap for the supernatural being behind the curse, a destructive force summoned by the vengeful cult, a supernatural being that none of them ever thought to face.

MY VIEW
This was heaps better than Kitty & The Dead Mans Hand so if you was less than impressed with that don't give up as this restores my faith in the series.

This does continue from the previous book as they all have and Kitty is back in Denver along with her new husband Ben and in this instalment we find Kitty with the back up of a paranormal television series crew.

This is such a brilliant series it has just the right mix of everything - yes there is romance but, its not totally OTT like some romances in this genre can be, its all really quite normal which of, course Kitty is not.

This is my 2nd fave in the series, I just loved the first book and getting to know Kitty etc read that if you don't read the rest of the series but, I am guessing it will just whet your appetite for me.

Rebel by R J Anderson

SYNOPSIS
No ordinary fairy tale... Linden is a feisty faery with a lot on her mind. She her fellow faeries are under threat: their magic is fading, and if they do not act fast, they will die... When Linden meets Timothy, a human staying in the house opposite her Oak, she knows he can help. Together they embark on a dangerous journey to seek more magic _ and discover that there is more to fear from other faeries than they could ever have imagined.

MY VIEW
Rebel starts 15 years after the ending of Knife and now Knife is married to Paul we don't see as much of her as the prequel which is a shame as I loved her character. Knife is still about though as even though now married to a human, Paul she still protects the fairies.

This book focusses more on Linden who is the youngest of all the fairies. This book is not quite as good, in my opinion as Knife but, then Linden is a much different character than Knife she is a lot less gutsy the human boy, Timothy also is as far from the character of Paul as you can get he comes across as quite moody and I felt little sympathy for him.

A lot of what happens is fairly easily predictable and leads on to the ending to be set up for the third book I'd probably rate this a 3 out of 5 and will still read the next book as hopefully it will re-claim the charm of 'Knife'.

Knife by R J Anderson

SYNOPSIS
Forget everything you think you know about faeries. . . .

Creatures full of magic and whimsy?

Not in the Oakenwyld. Not anymore.

Deep inside the great Oak lies a dying faery realm, bursting with secrets instead of magic. Long ago the faeries mysteriously lost their magic. Robbed of their powers, they have become selfish and dull-witted. Now their numbers are dwindling and their very survival is at stake.

Only one young faery—Knife—is determined to find out where her people's magic has gone and try to get it back. Unlike her sisters, Knife is fierce and independent. She's not afraid of anything—not the vicious crows, the strict Faery Queen, or the fascinating humans living nearby. But when Knife disobeys the Faery Queen and befriends a human named Paul, her quest becomes more dangerous than she realizes. Can Knife trust Paul to help, or has she brought the faeries even closer to the brink of destruction?

Talented newcomer R. J. Anderson creates an extraordinary new fantasy world and weaves a gripping tale of lost magic, high adventure, and surprising friendship in which the fate of an entire realm rests on the shoulders of one brave faery rebel.

MY VIEW
This book is entitled Faery Rebels stateside, it would be simpler if books had the same name both sides of the pond, its caused me some confusion at times but, never mind.

This was another brilliant story of the Fae, one of the quotes for this books was "This is the best kind of fantasy: a book that makes faeries wonderfully real and maybe even living in our own backyards." This is so so true of this book.

Knife is of course, a faerie and she gets injured in battle she is nursed by a human, Paul and Knife decides she wants to know more about humans. The faeries R J Anderson has created are all very tiny and are I guess what we imagine them to be. I found it interesting how sensitive Paul's disability was dealt with, really well written.

The cover of this book in the UK seemed a little more grown up than the USA edition so think perhaps they are trying to appeal to a slightly different audience over here.