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.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

SYNOPSIS
Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

MY VIEW
This was an absolutely delightful tale! Although not all sugar and spice and all things nice.

Laurel is 15 and is unable to eat most things, quite amusingly she can drink Sprite and canned fruits and syrup. Laurel is a fairy, only she doesn't know it at the beginning of the story, Laurel has been home-schooled all her life and has to start school for real which she finds quite daunting and so enter love interest, David.

This is a love story with a fairy twist, Laurel finds a bump on her back which seems to grow and grow and she manages to cover it up until one day a big flower blooms out of her and that is not all a little love triangle develops enter another Faerie called Tamani, David and Tamani are as different to each other as you could get.


This was a really easy to follow book, apparently its aimed at the 'Twilight' set but, its lighter than that and personally I'm not a massive Twilight fan and think Stephenie Meyers books are slightly over-rated but, this was different it’s a really nice faerie tale but, in a way different to other faerie based books I've read (ie. Melissa Marr and O R Melling), apparently it’s the first of a 4 book series so will definitely be reading the rest.

I've also heard this is to be made into a film which might be good until I heard the lead role was to be played by Miley Cyrus! Never mind. Also interesting as its Aprilynne's first book, methinks Ms Meyer has more to do with this book than just the quote on the cover.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

SYNOPSIS Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning 21st century faery tale.


MY VIEW
This was brilliant if you love any fiction about faeries then read it, read it, read it!

A YA fiction book yes but, I loved it as you can probably tell even though it was brilliant Aislinn was just an OK central character I didn't dislike her but, I didn't have a big connection with her I found the sub-characters more fascinating and for me they made the story.Keenan (Summer king) and Donia (Winter Girl) were for me more interesting. Keenans character really develops through the book whereas Aislinn I don't know she just seems to meander through.

Keenan seems not too likeable at first but, as I say his character does develop and I wanted to read more on him than anyone else, the book is at the basics about a Summer King looking for his Queen and he thinks he has found her in Aislinn but, Aislinn just wants to avoid faeries so it makes for an interesting quest.

This was a very well written story despite me not warming to Aislinn it really doesn't matter there is so much going on and never a boring moment and once you've read this you will look at carnivals in a different light and just wonder ...

Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley

SYNOPSIS
Cloistered in a stone cell at the monastery of Saint Brigit, a sixth-century Irish nun secretly records the memories of her Pagan youth, interrupting her assigned task of transcribing Augustine and Patrick. She also writes of her fiercely independent mother, whose skill with healing plants and inner strength she inherited. She writes of her druid teacher, the brusque but magnetic Giannon, who first introduced her to the mysteries of written language. But disturbing events at the cloister keep intervening. As the monastery is rent by vague and fantastic accusations, Gwynneve's words become the one force that can save her from annihilation.


MY VIEW
Quite a short book by my usual standards but, not one word was wasted, this was fantastic!

The pagan nun is Gwynneve and living in 6th century Ireland and in what is known as a Clochan, this is the building pictured on the cover. The clochan is at a monastery of St Brigit and is at the time of the Pagan-Christian conversion. Its so fascinating a Pagan nun seems so strange yet the book doesn't seem to shout that one is better than the other like you would think it would.

Gwynneve was raised as a Pagan but, it is after her mother dies that she converts to being a nun. This is not a happy book but, is also thought provoking too - read it if your Pagan, read it if your Christian in fact read it if your not religious at all.

Her Mothers Daughter by Julianne Lee

SYNOPSIS
A new novel of sixteent-century royalty from the author of A Question of Guilt

Her name was Mary Tudor. First of the Tudor queens, she has gone down in history as Bloody Mary. But does she deserve her vicious reputation?

She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, and half-sister to Edward VI and Elizabeth I. Mary Tudor's life began as the sweetly innocent, pampered princess of Wales-until the age of eleven when the father she adored cast aside the mother she worshipped and declared Mary a bastard. Only after years of exile did Mary finally rise to the throne alongside the man who, aside from her father, was her greatest love-and her greatest betrayer.

Told by Mary herself and the people around her, this grand-scale novel takes us back to the glittering court of sixteenth-century England, and tells the tragic story of a fascinating, largely misunderstood woman who withstood the treachery and passion around her only to become one of England's most vilified queens.


MY VIEW
The beginning of this was rather different in that a group of schoolgirls in the present time conjure up the spirit of Mary Tudor. However, it doesn't detract and just launches the story.

The story does move along fast in places perhaps two fast and skips Mary's life by about 6 years, we are told of the major things that happened in Marys life like her fathers marriage to Anne Boleyn and also to Jane Seymour however, things are just zipoping from one thing to the other too quickly Henry dies, his son is on the throne I think she may have missed out the Sixth wife which seems a little odd as she was a major part of Henry's story.

Now that said if you can overlook these slight niggles (or that may just be me) it is a good read, certainly nowhere near as dire as Susannah Dunn's offerings, those with superior knowledge of the Tudor era may find this book a little irritating as there are some historical inaccuracies but, its not too bad, I don't usually rate books but, I'd say this is about a 3.5/5.