Bitten by Books

The sixth story in the Woodcutter’s Grim mini-series concerns Marnie and Gavin Shaussegeny, the werewolf parents of Glynnis, the subject of the previous tale. The two protagonists share a mate bond, which in the Shaussegeny family means that they both can only find true peace and happiness with one another—and when they remain faithful. Read More »

Beauty is the Beast, the seventh story in the Woodcutter’s Grim mini-series, focuses on Ransom Shaussegeny, the one member of the family who refuses to accept his fate as a werewolf, tirelessly working on a cure to free all of them. On the afternoon of Halloween, Ransom finds himself once again reading the last part of the curse details outlined in his grandfather’s journal, stating that the curse can be broken by beauty and the beast/good and evil falling in love with one another. Read More »

Alliance Forged, the second installment in the intriguing Light Blade series, picks up a few months after the events at the end of book one. The half-Na’Reish/half-human Na’Chi have been living in their settlement outside of the Light Blade city of Sacred Lake, and when the story opens, a contingent of human rebels attack the village. Thankfully, some scouts spot the invaders early enough to warn the people so they are able to flee in time. However, Kymora, the Temple-Elect priestess who has been living with the Na’Chi, remains behind due to her blindness. Some of the warriors, both the Na’Chi and the Light Blades who have been training with them, are also away from the village, and by the time they get back, most of the livestock has been needlessly slaughtered, some of the homes burned, and worst of all, the rebels have taken Kymora as hostage. Read More »

Jeremiah Kensington dreams of making it big with his guitar—and of consequently getting out of his small Indiana town. Believing himself better than the people he grew up around, Jeremiah’s feelings of superiority really kick in every time someone requests “Freebird” at one of his shows. After a confrontation with some of the locals one evening over the aforementioned song, an older man, R.J., approaches Jeremiah and offers to help him with music representation, a role he has filled for his granddaughter. Read More »

Night Owls, the terrific first installment in what promises to be a spectacular new series, grabs the reader with its first sentence and holds on until the very last. The novel opens with Elly, the protege of the recently-deceased Father Value, on the run from a Creep (a werewolf/shifter type of supernatural creature) after the book she carries. Read More »

The world that provides the setting for the intriguing Panthan’s Crucible has been under siege for ten years by the mysterious Panthans, a race of vampire-like beings that prey upon humans. In response to this threat, humans created enhanced soldiers, Wodens, who unfortunately have a penchant for sometimes being overzealous. Sixteen-year-old Laura’s friend, Avery, suffers an attack by Wodens because her green eyes lead the soldiers to identify her as Panthan, since that eye color is the one they Read More »

Catherine Sharp gets by okay, working in Vegas as a gifted tech support drudge and helping out her landlady with mechanical issues in exchange for a bit getting shaved off of her rent, but Cat has a problem: currently her soul is held by Eris, the Greek goddess of discord. Read More »

When this engaging novel begins, Lord Grey Sheffield, special prosecutor for the Lord Chief Justice, attends a late- nineteenth-century séance conducted by Alphonse Brown. Grey’s job, and purpose in life, the reader discovers, entails the investigation into and exposure of fraudulent confidence dealers, including so-called spiritualists and mediums. Read More »

Beginning in rural Kentucky in 1936, the story of the forbidden friendship between Viola and Janie, two young pregnant women, captures the reader’s interest on the first page. As they are members of the Pentecostal congregation, Janie’s brutal husband, Bick, does not care for his wife to have anything to do with their neighbor, Viola, a Baptist. Read More »

Enclave, the terrific first installment in the Razorland trilogy, grips the reader from the first page. In an unspecified future, a young woman faces her naming ceremony, a ritual that involves various artifacts from the past and drops of her blood. Read More »

Only the Good Die Young, the terrific first installment in the Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire series, begins with psychic Amanda Lee Minter hanging around the place where a young woman, Jensen, was murdered almost thirty years earlier, hoping to make contact with Jensen’s ghost. Able to connect with Jensen by showing her some jewelry similar to what she used to wear, Read More »

Demon Ex Machina , the exciting fifth book in the Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series, begins with Kate Connor out on patrol not only with her almost-fifteen-year-old daughter, Allie, but also with her husband, Stuart, the latter now on board with Kate’s alarming vocation as demon-hunter. Read More »

Dirty Magic, the brilliant first installment in the Prospero’s War series, starts out literally with a bang and never misses a beat. Cop Kate Prospero comes upon an attack on a woman while on patrol in the Cauldron, the area of Babylon where magic-infested potion addicts hang out. Discovering the woman dead, Kate pursues the killer, who shows a disturbing resistance to the typical weapons used against hopped-up addicts, and also has strange Read More »

Watchers, my apologies for the long absence. As you may recall, we did a poll here a while back asking which shows you would like to discuss in the column. Ninety-eight people voted. Of the five shows with the most votes, two (Sleepy Hollow and Witches of East End) have already finished their runs for the season. However, they will still get discussed (one this time, the other next). The other three rounding out the top five: Grimm, Lost Girl, and Supernatural, which we will talk about regularly. Read More »

Between, the imaginative and gripping first installment in The Books of the Between series, grabs the reader immediately. Dr. Vivian Maylor, during a slight lull in the emergency room, calls the “rest home” to check on her mother, Isobel, who suffers from delusions about places she refers to as Dreamworld, Wakeworld, and Between. Read More »

Netherworld, the exciting first installment in The Chronicles of Diana Furnival, finds our daring heroine in a Hertfordshire graveyard on Halloween, 1879, with the local constable and her cat, Mina. The family of Diana’s deceased husband, William, served as caretakers of a gateway between our world and the Netherworld, a realm of spirits and malevolent beings. Read More »

Ciel Halligan has a special skill: she can change her aura and appearance to mimic that of anyone she has had the slightest contact with. Ciel employs this ability as an aura adaptor in her business as that of a “fixer”, aiding her clients in whatever way she can, taking on their persona. Since adaptors wish to keep their ability, which involves an energy shift or adjustment, at least somewhat private, Ciel’s clients sign a non-disclosure agreement. Read More »

Ghost of A Smile, the second book in the Ghost Finders series, details more exploits from the intrepid Carnacki Institute team comprised of J.C. Chance (team leader with supernaturally-enhanced eyes from a previous assignment), Happy (a telepath), Melody (science expert), and Kim (a ghost). Read More »

Night Vision, the terrific fourth installment in the compelling Indigo Court series, begins shortly after the events at the end of the previous book. Cicely, wind witch and owl-shifter, and her cousin Rhiannon, when emerging from the forest receive a message from Ulean, the wind elemental bound to Cicely, that there is trouble at home. Read More »

This vivid and original story begins with Eliani, heir to the governance of the Aelvan Realm of Alpinon upon the passing of her father, spotting an unknown traveler making his way through the woods. Curious, Eliani follows the visitor, and when they meet, she finds out that he is Turisan, heir to the governorship of Southfaeld, a neighboring kingdom, bearing tidings of a council meeting from his father to Eliani’s. Read More »