Bitten by Books

The excellent first installment in The Mist-Torn Witches series begins with sisters Celine and Amelie Fawe (ages fifteen and twelve, respectively) mourning the death of the their mother, the village seer. When a young man comes to their apothecary shop to consult the seer and Celine spots the bag of money in his hand, she makes the decision to say she shares her mother’s gift of foresight, even though she does not, thereby setting the course for the life she and Amelie will lead. Read More »

**Though no spoilers of events that happen in this section of the serial novel will be given in this review, please be aware that references will be made to previous sections.**

Part four of the serial novel begins with Zenobia and Ariq having come to more of an understanding of one another on their way to deliver Helene, Zenobia’s friend, to her husband, an ambassador. Zenobia marvels at the wonders of the Red City and its surroundings as the airship makes its approach. Read More »

Hounded, the fabulous first installment in the Iron Druid series, grabs the reader from the first page and does not let go for the duration of the novel. Atticus O’Sullivan, minding his own business on his way to lunch, faces an attack by a group of fae outside of his bookshop. The sole surviving Druid, Atticus appears only twenty-one, though twenty-one hundred more Read More »

**Though no spoilers of events that happen in this section of the serial novel will be given in this review, please be aware that references will be made to previous sections.**

After their arrival in the town of the smuggler’s den that will serve as their base while Ariq and his men search the surrounding area for clues about the marauders, Ariq pays a visit to the Twins, a very unusual pair of siblings whose description will be best appreciated when read personally rather than mentioned here. Read More »

**Though no spoilers of events that happen in this section of the serial novel will be given in this review, please be aware that references will be made to previous sections.**

Still smarting over the comments Mara told her she overheard between Ariq and his brother, Taka, in part two of the Kraken King, Zenobia continues to give Ariq a bit of a cold shoulder. Unfortunately, since the pregnant Helene really wishes to get to her husband in the Red City as quickly as possible, Zenobia decides to approach Ariq to see what other arrangements can be made to get the two women to the other side of Australia sooner rather than later. Read More »

Beginning a few weeks after the events of the previous installment, Marked, book three in the Mindscape Investigations series, finds Adam Ward, telepath consultant to the police department, leaving yet another successful interrogation to go help Isabella Cherabino, his partner and not-so-secret crush, with a murder case. On his way, Adam receives a message to call Kara, his ex-fiancée, immediately. The two have a recent history of helping each other out when necessary, so Adam decides he will return the call a bit later. Read More »

Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, but have you ever wondered about the other characters in the famous story? The premise of the fabulous Prince of Shadows provides that background, as well as a few other twists. Benvolio Montague narrates the tale of his life with his younger cousin, Read More »

Well, Watchers, the last episode aired a couple of weeks ago, closing out a four-year-run of what I thought was a great show. I know a lot of people said they preferred the British version, but I have to say that I actually came to like this US version better than the other, which for me went off the rails at the end of its second season. Read More »

Though the travesty of the Salem Witch Trials has received plenty of attention, the horrors of the incarcerations of those accused may not be so widely known. The excellent The Heretic’s Daughtercovers both of those aspects, as well as events leading up to the trials. Told in first-person narration by the ten-year-old Sarah, readers get the chance to experience the proceedings and surrounding incidents through the eyes of a child, albeit a precocious one. Read More »

This enjoyable novel in the Secrets trilogy begins with the young soldier Christian Hill attempting an ill-fated rescue of a young woman from the clutches of one of his comrades. Upon arriving at the inn, Christian ends up fighting for his life against the recalcitrant Moore, who refuses to either give up the young lady or surrender himself. The ensuing battle results in the death of Moore. Immediately thereafter, the aunt of the terrified young woman tells Christian that he must marry the fourteen-year-old Dorcas, or he will be indicted for murder. Feeling trapped, Christian agrees, and he and Dorcas marry. After that, both young people go their own ways-Dorcas back home, and Christian overseas with the army. Read More »

When this first installment in the Bayou Angels series begins, Angel Sabato decides that the time is right to disclose his true feelings for his longtime friend and colleague, Grace O’Brien. Unfortunately, Grace’s reaction of disbelief and shock are not what Angel hopes for, resulting in his decision to leave Houma, Louisiana (outside of New Orleans) immediately. Two weeks later, the surprising news that Angel married a flight attendant makes its way to Grace. Read More »

Fast-track attorney Jackson Montague plans an evening of his specialty – a love ‘em and leave ’em one-night stand. Arriving at his typical haunt, he meets a beautiful woman, and they engage in furtive mutual gratification just short of intercourse in a dark corner of the bar. Feeling sated and pleased with himself, Jack is taken completely unawares by an attack from the jealous husband of one of his conquests. When some approaching people scare of the attacker, Jack makes his way home and calls the police. Read More »

As this enjoyable, fast-paced novel begins, FBI Agent Harmony Swift arrives at Lewisburg Penitentiary to spring convicted felon/computer expert Cole Hackett from prison. Harmony’s mentor and lifelong friend, Richard, has been kidnapped by the Russian mob, and they are demanding money for his release. Since Cole was incarcerated for hacking into the FBI’s computer security system, he is Harmony’s first choice as her assistant in securing Richard’s release. Unfortunately, since the FBI declines to get involved, Harmony goes rogue and breaks Cole out of jail. Read More »

Meet (do not call her Siobhan) Quinn, junky monster-hunter with a sharp tongue and priceless observations. The highly-original Blood Oranges begins with Quinn telling the story of her late-night visit to a cemetery to investigate the scene of a grisly murder a few days earlier. Not picking up any “dog” scent, Quinn decides to use the opportunity to shoot up, and shortly thereafter, a huge werewolf shows up. Fortunately, another creature falls out of a tree and pulls the werewolf off of Quinn before it eats her but, unfortunately, not before it sinks a claw into her butt. At that point, Quinn passes out. Read More »

Zenobia Fox (an assumed name to conceal her identities as both an author and an heiress who seems to get kidnapped frequently), sets out on a trip with her longtime, friend, Helene, now married to an ambassador. Viewing the journey as an adventure she can use as fodder for her next Lady Lynx story, Zenobia feels secure on the airship, especially given the presence of her bodyguards-in-disguise, Mara and Cooper. Read More »

***This column will be loaded with spoilers, Watchers, so read no further if you have not seen the episodes through the finale. **

I love this show. I have loved this show from its very first episode. However, this season has caused me some frustration. First, though, let’s discuss the heartbreak. Read More »

Six weeks after nearly shorting out his brain and his telepathic ability with it on a big case, police department-consultant Adam finds himself trying to hide from his co-workers the fact that his telepathy still remains at less than full strength. To make matter worse, his former homicide detective partner (of sorts), Isabella Cherabino, has been actively avoiding him due to the mind-link Read More »

Night Broken, the exciting eighth installment in the superb Mercy Thompson series, picks up just a few months after the events at the end of book seven, Frost Burned. The pack has been coming to terms with the loss of a beloved member, and getting back into some semblance of a normal routine. One surprise Mercy does not need-a frantic phone call from her husband Adam’s ex-wife, Christy, who seems to have acquired a dangerous stalker after a brief time with him in Reno. Read More »

Greetings, Watchers. *This time we will discuss Lost Girl, up through the episode “Waves” that aired on SyFy on 3/17 (the column will always follow the US viewing schedule) and Supernatural up through the “Blade Runners” episode which aired 3/18. New episodes of both shows may air before you see the column and comment, so please do not give any spoilers at all beyond the episodes I am writing about here.* Read More »

Frost Burned, the terrific seventh installment in the superb Mercy Thompson series, begins with a literal bang as our heroine gets into a car accident while out shopping on Black Friday with her step-daughter, Jesse. The two women try to call Adam, Mercy’s alpha werewolf husband, as well as a number of other members of the pack, but no one answers their phones. Added to that very unusual situation, Mercy receives a cryptic text from Bran, the leader of the Western werewolves. Confused, Mercy and Jesse catch a ride with the tow truck to Mercy’s body shop, and find Gabriel, her Read More »