The librarian usually sends out links for each months topic. This month, her links include an article titled something like "what is urban fantasy" that only says it's a marketing category and a list of "where to start" that has more male authors than female authors. I, just, I don't know, ya'll. If I were introducing someone to UF, I'd probably talk about the use of noir tropes in contemporary fantasy settings, broken vs unbroken masquerades, and Carrie Vaughn's theory, "these books are symptomatic of an anxiety about women and power." But, sure, here's a dude saying it's meaningless marketing and a list of mostly dudes to read.

The other big UF reader in the group is going to be out of town for this one, so I'm trying to psych myself up to deal with a room full of guys all talking about Harry Fucking Dresden. 

I'm also bounding myself by recommending in-progress series or stand alone books. A few months back, one of the members asked for recommendations for completed UF series that weren't PNR, and I want to avoid repeats. Okay, he didn't say PNR, he asked for books that weren't all about vampire sex. So at least one person may have some non-Dresden. . . take a deep breathe, Saturdays, you don't want to start another fight in book club.

Whatever. I love this genre. 

Shadowshaper - Daniel José Older. So far this series has 2 novels and 3 novellas and is dynamite. The protagonist is an artist who discovers her legacy includes channeling spirits into physical forms. She makes her graffiti come alive. Yeah, that's right, I talk all that shit and then start off with a book by a man.

Owl and the Japanese Circus - Kristi Charish. Action packed with an unlikable heroine, this series follows an antiquities thief and her vampire hunting cat through endless poor decisions and explosions. I adore that she isn't good with weapons and doesn't have powerful magic abilities. I just recently finished the 4th installment, and the heroine is consistently a train wreck.

Zero Sum Game (Russell's Attic) (Volume 1) - SL Huang. Fast paced, plenty of violence, and her magic power is being really good at math. Do I need to go on? 

Drink, Slay, Love - Sarah Beth Durst. A teenage vampire gets stabbed by a unicorn and finds herself able to go out in daylight. Her family decides to enroll her in high school so she can lure teens back to the rest of the bloodsuckers. This is a lighthearted, almost rom-com book that is exactly as much fun as my first sentence indicates.

Broken Monsters - Lauren Beukes. The protagonists are all human in this not-quite police procedural where strange murders point toward incomprehensible motives.

 And I think I'll stop there. I really want to add about 10 more books. We'll see where the night leads.

This was a nice refreshing read after some heavier stuff this summer. Clearly defined good and evil and highschool drama complete with makeover scenes aren't usually my thing. But I was told to expect that from the cover description, and it met expectations wonderfully.

By no means an epic read, but this book does that oh-so-rare feat in actually being exactly what it is advertised as. Fun, light, fast.

And, light, I cannot emphasize that word enough. LIGHT.

Unicorn stabs vampire, vampire goes out in sunlight, vampire's family enrolls her in high school in order to expand their feeding options. Fish out of water highschool drama ensues. If that doesn't sound like fun to you, go ahead and give this one a pass.

If you need answers to questions like: How is a vampire baby even a thing? How does she age? When does she stop aging? give this one a pass. There are passing mentions confirming most of the standard vampire lore (crosses, holy water, fire) but aside from saying it's "rare," there isn't any info on how a vampire could be born and grow up to be a teenager. 

If someone calling a unicorn "Mr. Sparkly and Pointy" makes you smile a bit, maybe check this one out.

This was a joy to read! Pearl’s such a great character and she made the book entertaining. I loved her wit, it provided for the majority of the comedy parts in the plot. Her sarcasm and her attempt to try and fit into school life was absolutely hilarious.

The vampires in this book are well done as well. They’re bloodthirsty and ambitious. Just the way I like them! no sparkly ones here! The scheme to get Pearl into high school so she can lure the food to feed her fellow vampires was well done (plus Jadrien is quite the hottie!)

Although the plot was pretty good, there were parts that are predictable and cliched. However because of Pearl and her personality (which pretty much is the highlight of the book) it can be overlooked. You pretty much figure out who the unicorn is, and Pearl’s choice on who she decides to be with isn’t a bad choice (although, I’d rather prefer the bad guy, he was your stereotypical bad boy, but you couldn’t help but fall for him.)

Definitely recommended for YA lovers. Read it for Pearl! she’s one of the best protagonists you would ever find.

If you want a review discussing plot points and character development... keep on scrolling down the feed. This is purely the expression of my feelings regarding this wonderful book. There will be gifs. You've been warned.

This book was awesome!

Sarah Beth Durst...

 for writing this book!

It's official Unicorns make everything better.

I loved Pearl. I would want to be friends with Pearl. 

 Evan was everything I have been wanting to see in a male lead

There should be more like this...is there more like this? 

Oh my god. I haven't read a book this good in AGES! 

I LOVED this book. It is so awesome. It's actually a very light-hearted and entertaining book, despite it being about vampires. I adore Pearl, she is confident and funny and capable of doing things on her own. She is so awesome! I enjoyed watching her character grow and change throughout the novel. 

Drink, Slay, Love's main strength is its characters. Pearl is not the only lovable character in this book. I liked her friendships with Bethany and the other girls at her school, and the romance with Evan was sweet, but not sickly sweet, ya know? Even though there is a love triangle, I didn't mind because it wasn't much of a love triangle. It's barely present. I felt the romance complimented the action perfectly, and never overtook the main story. It's one of those occasions where the love triangle is actually well done. 

Overall, I really, really, REALLY enjoyed Drink, Slay, Love. Highly recommend!