Book source ~ Gifted

On the morning of her thirteenth birthday Lily touched her father and saw his death. Thinking it was a bad dream, she realizes it’s a curse when he dies that very day. Her mother whisks her away from the village she grew up in to the outside world that doesn’t have any magic. Joining a traveling tent revival the evangelical preacher uses Lily’s gift for his own gain. In the meantime, Baba Yaga has taken an interest in Lily. Which is surely not a good thing. How will Lily get back to the only place she loved, rescue the girl she’s falling in love with, and complete the quest Baba Yaga has given her?

This is a fascinating tale about Baba Yaga and a girl who can see death. Strange and compelling I couldn’t help but drop into the story and stay there to cheer Lily on to a satisfactory conclusion. It defies pigeon-holing and crosses several genre lines. It’s young adult, fantasy, horror, and LGBT. Plus, it’s illustrated! This is my first read of Michael Thomas Ford and I look forward to delving into more of his works.

Book source ~ Review copy. My review is voluntary and honest.

Enora Byrnes has lived her whole life under the control of the DMC. Water is scarce and the resource must be carefully guarded. But the resistance believes the DMC has more than they are sharing. Enora and Springer were soldiers for the DMC once. Now they are with the resistance and with each day that passes, things get worse. Stories are told on both sides, but they both can’t be right. Can they?

This is a bleak look into a future we don’t want. Ever. I can’t imagine this world as a real world and yet I know it could happen. If we aren’t much more careful with this planet we live on, that supports us, we will be staring right into the face of this tale. And it is not pretty. Enora is such a conflicted character. At times it’s hard to like her because she has a tendency to be an idiot, but for the most part I feel for her. Springer is her one constant and he’s still a bit of a mystery. One thing that’s unquestionable is his devotion to Enora. He always has her back. They are in this together, all the way to the end. And then there’s Ander. What are they going to do with him? If you like YA Dystopian stories then you should really pick up After the Green Withered and this one. They will wring your heart out until you’re left with a dried out husk. Fitting for this desolate world.

Book source ~ Gifted – birthday present

For those who like to read things in chronological order this story is set between the novel White Knight and the graphic novel Down Town.

I love the world of Harry Dresden and I delight in each book and graphic novel I can get my greedy little hands on. This one was a birthday gift from my hubby, so yay! Even though this is a short story in graphic novel form, everything I love about the Dresden Files is present: humor, snarkiness, Big Bads, mystery, and magic. I love it. On the other hand, I’m not so enamored with the artwork. It’s only so-so for me since I don’t think anyone looks how I pictured them. Which wouldn’t ordinarily be a bad thing, but I just had a hard time with everyone being so buff. Harry? No. And Marcone? Seriously?! Absolutely not. Anyway, great story, meh artwork.

*Book source ~ Gifted

Nora Sutherlin is a notorious writer of steamy erotica and she’s trying to get her newest book published with respectable publisher, Royal House Publishing. She wants their best editor, the young and handsome British fuddy duddy Zach Easton, to edit her book, but he wants nothing to do with the purveyor of smut. However, they strike a deal and if he likes her book by the time she’s rewritten it and he’s edited it then he’ll sign her contract. But there’s more going on in both their lives than just a book. Who will be the victor in this butting of heads?

This book had been on my TBR since 2012 and while I was intrigued enough to stick it on that shelf there was always something telling me I wouldn’t like it so I kept pushing it further down the list. At the urging of friends who loved it and a gifted copy I decided to give it a go.

It started off pretty good. I liked all the characters, the writing was great and there was some mystery and witty dialogue. And then Nora does some shit that I find reprehensible. On top of that, she can’t seem to have a normal conversation. Everything out of her mouth, and I mean everything, is some kind of sexual reference or innuendo and frankly it got so incredibly tedious I wanted to just slap some duct tape over her mouth for the rest of the book. Or maybe sew her lips shut since she loves pain so damn much.

I started out hating Søren and liking everyone else, but by the end of the book Søren was the only true-to-himself character and everyone else were just fucked up liars. I would never be friends with Søren, but at least he was honest. Oh, and don’t get me started on the “twist” to Nora’s story. Can I just say how moronic it was and leave it at that? I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they would fall out of my head, roll across the floor and the cats would bat them around for fun. I’m done. Do I need to say I will not be continuing with this series? I’m so disillusioned I’m not even sure I want to try anything else by this new-to-me author.

*Book source ~ Gifted

Tess “Red” Little lives in Chicago and works as an Enforcer for the Fairytale Management Authority. See, ever since a magic spell went wonky and fairy tale characters have been crossing over into human reality, there needs to be some kind of governing body to keep them in line. For the most part they behave themselves or the crimes are petty. But every once in a while Red is called in to track down and apprehend a murderer. When characters are being murdered in a particularly gruesome way and the suspect list contains Red’s former lovers, her boss assigns Detective Nate Grimm to help her with the case. Red works alone and she really doesn’t want the sexy mysterious Reaper riding her cloak, er coat. In the end though, Nate more than proves his worth, but will a happily ever after be attainable?

First off, I’ve been enjoying the fairy tale retellings that have been popping up lately. Some more than others, but I have to say that this one is top of the stack. The plot, world, creativeness, characters, writing and the humor are reasons aplenty to keep me reading. Red is tough yet vulnerable. She’s not perfect, but she does the best she can. She’s had a rough past and she’s a loner, but she’s smart and funny, too. Nate is just yummy. Who doesn’t love a sexy Reaper? Ok, that sounds a little looney, but hey, he’s fictional so it’s ok, right? I’m going with hell yeah! The mystery was enough to keep me guessing and did I mention the humor? I love humor sprinkled throughout a book. I’ll definitely be continuing with this series.