Jerusha "Judy" Abbott is a Canadian orphan, who at 17 is still living in the orphanage, mainly because they are using her as free help. She is frequently told that she needs to keep her strong opinions and overactive imagination to herself, or nothing will come of her. She dreams of becoming a famous author and when a wealthy benefactor of the orphanage offers to send her to college on a scholarship, she is closer to achieving said dream. She doesn't know who he is, having only seen his shadow as he left the matron's office, but she knows that he is tall, and his shadow resembled a daddy long-legs. Hence, when she is told that she needs to write letters to her benefactor detailing her progress, she addresses each one to "Dear Daddy Long-Legs".

Having never had a family of her own, Judy (as she reinvents herself at college. Who can blame her for wanting to be rid of the name Jerusha?) starts imagining that Daddy Long-Legs all the relatives she's been missing. Going to college and receiving an education, Judy thrives. She loves learning, she loves improving her writing and making new friends. She never gets any replies to her letters, but the occasional gift (sometimes quite extravagant) proves that her anonymous rich benefactor reads her missives and doesn't want her to feel left out among the other girls at the college. Very occasionally, Judy will get written instructions through her benefactor's secretary, who among other things, helps find her places to spend her summers, while the other girls go home to their families. 

As she grows older and her education is coming to an end, Judy becomes more and more curious about the identity of "Daddy Long-Legs" and tries to use her prodigious imagination to figure out who he might be. 

I picked up this book both because Dear Mr. Knightley, which I really liked, was inspired by it (which meant that I wasn't really surprised by any of the major story beats, as they are pretty much the same) and because Forever YoungAdult and the Book Smugglers, both review sites I trust and often agree with, rated it 5 stars and called it a must-read classic. Written in 1912, I'm sure this is a beloved book to many, but whether it's because I'd just read modern book with a very similar plot, or whether I just found some aspects of the book a bit disturbing, it just didn't entirely work for me.

While Judy is rather delightful, smart, opinionated and a bit too prone to speaking (or writing) her mind before she thinks about what she's actually saying, there was something very off-putting to me about her addressing most of her letters to "Dear Daddy". Especially as based on the reviews I'd seen, I knew that there was a romantic subplot, and it was clear that she was actually going to fall in love with her benefactor, without knowing who he really was. When "Daddy" starts dictating where she spend her free time, obviously to prevent her from spending more time with her college friend's brother, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The reviewer on Forever YoungAdult points out that Judy frequently disregards the attempts at manipulations from her benefactor, and once she wins a scholarship due to her writing skill, she insists on being allowed to start paying back the money she's been given so far, not wanting to be in debt for any longer than necessary. 

I don't think it was just because of just having read Dear Mr. Knightley that I figured out quickly who "Daddy Long-Legs" was. While the character seems perfectly pleasant, and has very socialist leanings for a rich person of the time, I just couldn't get over the inappropriate way he keeps trying to direct Judy's life. Judy herself, as I have already mentioned, is great. She, like the precocious orphan girl ever, Ms Anne Shirley is the reason I liked the book as much as I did. It's really not going to be a book I revisit though, and the hero, if he can be called that, did little but skeeve me out.

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

In this book, we have Nick, the Alpha Pack's alpha.  He is a born wolf, which makes him pretty much immortal.  He is a couple hundred years old.  In a previous book, Nick was taken by vampires and was traumatized when one fed from him. Vampires feeding are quite a sexual experience.  It left him with a case of PTSD and starts the book off in a very bad place in his own head.

Calla is a vampire princess.  She has already lost her mate. She is very understanding of Nick's predicament with his fear of vampires.  Her ability to see past Nick's faults and to work with him, really show what a perfect mate she is for the old Commander.  She isn't the kick ass heroine that I normally look for in a book, but she has some really great traits that endear her all the same.  Even though she isn't a trained warrior, she picks up a gun and helps in the fight.

In this story, the Alpha pack are called to help their new vampire allies with some rogues that are attacking their coven.  It takes a while to figure out how these vampires have the information.  There is mole in the coven or the pack.  There is also some serious motivation to attack.  

This series once again delivers a great story with interesting characters.  Not only do we have shifters, most of which who are werewolves, and vampires, there are also several other species, including the Fae prince who has been exiled from him realm. There is also a new species that is introduced in the series who is playing for the bad guys.

While this is the sixth book in the series, you could read/listen to this one as a stand alone, but probably isn't quite as good as if you had read the whole series.  For those of you familiar with this series, the story takes place mostly at the vampire's coven.  We don't see as much of the characters from the compound.  We do see some of the characters of previous books, but only in a side role.

Narration

Normally, I'm not a fan of changing narrators mid-series, however, I think in this case, I won't be complaining.  While I didn't dislike Kirsten Potter, I felt she was an average narrator.  Marguerite Gavin is a way above average narrator.  Her pace and tone are always perfect for the scene.  She does a great job with both male and female voices.  She really brings the story to life. She is a narrator that I've looked at other series based mostly on the fact that she was the narrator.

I like to thank Tantor Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.

I'm not usually a big fan of Christmas stories, but if it is part of series that I'm already reading, I'll usually read it. In this case, just reading the blurb would've gotten me to read. I mean, trying to get former military caribou shifter to play Rudolf in a Christmas parade, how funny is that?

That's not it, there is a story outside of the funny. Crystal is running from a controlling, stalker ex-boyfriend. She moved to Kodiak Point to hide from Malcom along with her young daughter, Gigi. Crystal is a cougar shifter and took on the job of putting together the Christmas parade. A few days before, one of the reindeer dies and they are down to only 8. Her daughter really wants to see Rudolf and Crystal is willing to do anything to make her daughter happy.

Kyle is former military. He is also the town's player. He has a smile that gets all the women's attention. He is very prideful and is willing to be punished by his alpha to avoid playing to be dumb animal. That is until he finds a scare little girl hiding in the barn. Oh, and this little girl belongs to the hot new cat in town that is the only woman who won't give him the time of day.

The romance is a little fast, especially considering that both Kyle and Crystal have issues. But this is novella, 100 pages, so you have to expect that. The story is really cute. Kyle's relationship with Gigi is great. The story also shows issues that happens with women and single mothers all the time. I had fun reading it.

While I love this series and highly recommend every book in this funny sexy shifter series, this book can be read as a stand alone. If you haven't started the series, feel free to read this Christmas story during the holidays, then go back and read the rest of the series.

Having finally read The Hero and the Crown, it felt like it was time for a re-read of the Damar book I had actually read. The Blue Sword is set many centuries after Aerin the Dragon Slayer saved her kingdom from magical threat. Damarians now seem to be chiefly desert dwelling nomads and expert horsemen. They are now threatened both by magic wielding enemies to the north and ignorant colonists from the Homeland (read: Imperialist Britain). Corlath, the Damarian king tries to propose an alliance with the foreigners, but is ignored. He is surprised when his kelar, the magical gift (a bit like clairvoyance, but can also manifest itself in healing powers or destructive ability) all Damarian royals possess tells him that he needs to bring one of the Homeland females with him back to his people.

Burdened with the cumbersome name of Angharad Crewe, it's no surprise our heroine would rather go by Harry. Having come out to join her brother, a soldier stationed near the Damarian border after their father dies, Harry is not much like other the young ladies of gentle birth. She's tall and striking, rather impatient and more interested in riding and adventure than needlepoint and dancing. She finds the wild landscape of the desert beautiful and is just beginning to settle when she wakes up, discovering that desert warriors have abducted her and apparently intend to keep her as some sort of highly honoured hostage. Corlath treats her with every courtesy, she sleeps in his tent, eats her meals seated at his left hand and is allowed to take part in his counsels (not that she understands all that much of the foreign language in the beginning). When she drinks from the Damarians' special water, it starts to become clear why Corlath was compelled by his magic to take her from her own people - despite being a foreigner, she too has kelar and powerful enough that she can make others share in her visions of the future.

In one of her first visions, the legendary Lady Aerin appears to Harry and with threats looming at every turn, Corlath decides that a damalur-sol, a Lady Hero might be exactly what his people need to give them hope and aid them in their coming war. Harry learns to ride like the Damarians, controlling a spirited horse without bridle or stirrups. She becomes proficient with a sword and learns to speak the language. She befriends one of the big desert cats and gets to take part in the trials to find new King's Riders. During her stay with the Damarians, Harry becomes well liked and everyone seems impressed and genuinely pleased when she emerges the victor of the Rider trials (only unable to defeat a disguised Corlath himself). The longer she spends time with Corlath and his nomads, the more comfortable she becomes there. As attack is imminent, it becomes obvious to Harry that Corlath is ignoring a serious security breach and she may have to risk everything she's achieved and defy his will to ensure the safety of all the people she's grown to love.

If Aerin was a bit of an odd duck and outsider among her own people, Harry is much more so. Being quite the independent tomboy, she doesn't really fit in with her own peers and when she is abducted by Corlath, she is a literal Outlander, a stranger in a strange land. Unlike many of her fellow Homelanders, Harry is curious and open minded and with the exception of being magically drugged and spirited away from her bed in the middle of the night, she is extremely well treated by her abductor. Corlath only knows that he has to follow the calling of his kelar and when he discovers that Harry too is magically gifted, and rather strongly so as well, it becomes more clear to him why he was compelled to kidnap her. His country and people need her and being a clever leader and a good reader of people, he uses the opportunity Harry's visions of Aerin presents and has her groomed into a heroine and powerful symbol. Giving her Lady Aerin's legendary sword and making sure she is trained by the best, he helps to turn Harry into a motivating figure for his people.

Corlath might have been a dislikable character for kidnapping Harry, but it's clear that he has little choice in the matter when his hereditary magic takes control. The kelar that the leaders of Damar (as well as some of its other citizens) is gifted with can be as much a crippling curse as a gift. It's clear that ruling a dwindling kingdom threatened by foreign colonials and magically powerful enemies intent on conquest is no easy task, yet Corlath is beloved and respected, not just by his loyal Riders, but all his subjects. He never treats Harry with anything but the utmost respect and with the passage of time, they grow gradually closer.

Harry is thrown into a situation that might have made anyone freak out, but deals remarkably with it. Clearly an adventurous spirit, as soon as it's clear that she's in no danger with Corlath and his people, she tries to learn as much as possible about her new surroundings and the new culture she's become thrust into. She's polite, kind and works diligently to learn her new skills. When she arrives in the desert, she cannot mount a horse without aid, and some months later, she's good enough that she bests all the challengers and wins one of the coveted spots as King's Rider. She tries her best to fit in, but cannot ignore the lessons she's learned as the sister of a military man. Seeing that Corlath's enemies might gain a serious advantage if a strategic mountain pass goes undefended, she risks everything by going off alone to seek aid from the Homeland soldiers to secure the pass.

As well as being a wonderful adventure novel, there is also a subtle and slow-burning romance in the book which completely knocked my socks off the first time I read the book. For all that it's not really openly acknowledged by Corlath or Harry for much of the book, it's quite obvious that they are perfect for each other and it takes an excruciatingly long time before they admit their feelings to themselves or the other. I loved the book the first time I read it, and having now read the prequel, which gives this book even more depth, I am gratified that I enjoyed it just as much now as when I first discovered it. Such a lovely little book.

Very cute. Caribou shifter gets talked into play Rudolph in the Christmas parade to make one little girl happy. Full review will come.