Category Archives: Paranormal

Love in the Time of Dragons (Light Dragons, #1) by Katie MacAlister

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Tully Sullivan just woke up in a strange place, surrounded by people she’s never met. Which is bad enough. But then the strange people insist they are dragons. And, worse, that she is also a dragon, named Ysolde de Bouchier, one of the most notorious figures in dragon history.

She doesn’t buy it. She can’t breathe fire or shapeshift. She’s not even bothered by gold. But they’re adamant. And she’s in trouble.

Because these dragons also want to sentence her to death.

If she’s going to survive, Tully realizes she is going to have to find a way to solve the crimes she’s being accused of. Even though they happened in a past she has absolutely no memory of living.

Okay, when I read this book, I thought it was a continuation of the Silver Dragon series, and in a way it was.  Gabriel, the Silver Dragon wyvern, still wants Baltic dead.  After all, he’s already supposed to be dead!

I did not expect Tully to be Ysolde.  I never really believed she was dead, but I certainly didn’t think she was murdered and then brought back to life.

This book had a lot of “Say what?” moments.  However, it did explain the back story regarding Baltic.

As I said, I did not realize it was the beginning of a new series.  If I had, I might have waited until the entire series was published before reading it.  That’s what I did with the Silver Dragons and it worked out very well.

As a matter of fact, that’s what I recommend.  Read the first seven books:  four Aisling Gray and three Silver Dragons.  Wait for the entire Light Dragon series to be published so you can enjoy them all together.

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Me and My Shadow (Silver Dragons, #3) by Katie MacAlister

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May Northcott is at the end of her tether. Her demon boss has moved in and is making life hell. Her scorching hot dragon lover seems to think everything can be solved with a fiery kiss. And worse still, she’s being shadowed by her ditsy twin sister — a naiad who simply can’t seem to stay out of trouble. The arrival of a nearly-dead man on May’s doorstep could be the final spark that sets light to their tinder-box world. And with dragon war imminent, it’s looking increasingly like it will be up to May (and her watery shadow) to stop it before the fire consumes them all, and their lives end up in smoke!

This is the final book in the Silver Dragon series, although I didn’t realize it at the time.  May is still having issues with her demon lord, but since he is nearly powerless in his current form, it’s nothing she can’t handle.

Although this book did wrap up most of the relationship issues between May and Gabriel, it seemed to be designed more to setup the storyline for the next book in the “series.”  I originally thought Love in the Time of Dragons was the fourth book in the Silver Dragon series.  However, it turns out to be the first in the Light Dragon series.  The two books flow so seamlessly together that it was hard to tell.

I cannot wait for the next book to be released!  The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons is due out in May 2011.

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Up in Smoke (Silver Dragons, #2) by Katie MacAlister

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Though May Northcott’s heart belongs to Gabriel, leader of the silver dragons, being stuck in Abaddon has significantly cooled down her love life. Especially since a demon lord is trying to woo her. Looks like May will have to barter to gain her freedom and fulfill her destiny by Gabriel’s side…

This is the second in a set of three books.  I did not read any of the books until all of them were published and I am very glad I did so.  These books flow one right into the next.  They are so entertaining I would have hated to have to wait on any of them.

I liked Gabriel in the original Aisling Gray series and I am pleased that he has found his mate even if she comes with some issues.  I mean, what kind of story would we have if there wasn’t some type of conflict?

You have to admire an author that can almost make you like a demon lord.  He is not evil in spite of himself.  He is just evil, but for some reason, I think I like him.

And speaking of demons, Jim the demon Newfoundland dog is back!  The books would not be nearly as much fun without his snide comments.


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Playing with Fire (Silver Dragons, #1) by Katie MacAlister

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This is the first in a group of books that I read while on vacation.  For some strange reason I actually wrote about my vacation in my journal instead of the books I was reading.  LOL

Anyway, I am going to have to work from memory on when exactly I read these books.

Playing with Fire is the first in MacAlister’s Silver Dragon series.  This series is a spin-off of the Aisling Gray series which is a favorite of mine.  I was delighted to find that Aisling and the dragon septs show up in the new series, not to mention Jim.  Jim, the demon Newfoundland dog, is the most important character in the books to me.

Gabriel Tauhou is the wyvern of the Silver Dragons.  His sept is under a curse that no mate to a silver dragon shall be born.  Enter May Northcott.  She wasn’t born because she is a doppelganger, a being created by her twin.  Has Gabriel found his mate?  There is only one problem.  May was bound at creation to a demon lord.  It seems Gabriel can’t get a break.

I actually waited until all three books in this series were released before I read them.  I did not think they could be as enjoyable as the original series, but I was happy to be proven wrong.  The storyline flowed well between books and there was enough description to remind me of key plot features.

I do not like the character May as much as I do Aisling.  I think it is because she has something of a defeatist attitude.  To offset that, I like Gabriel much more than I do Aisling’s mate Drake.  It all balances out I guess.

Either way, I highly recommend this series.  It is not a stand alone however.  To really understand and enjoy it, you will have to read the Aisling Gray series first.  The title of the first book is You Slay Me.

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Insatiable (Meena Harper, #1) by Meg Cabot

I like Meg Cabot.  I haven’t read everything she has written, but I have enjoyed the ones I did.  Her newest book, Insatiable, is a vampire romance.  Since that is one of my favorite genres, I was very excited about it.

This book is typical Meg Cabot in that it is a light romance with comical aspects.  The main character is Meena Harper which is an obvious play on Mina Harker from the original Dracula.  Her brother’s name is Jon, so of course, we also have a Jon Harper/Harker.  In Dracula, John was Mina’s husband.

In this story, Meena falls in love with the Prince of Darkness, although there is a possible rival in a vampire slayer named Alaric Wulf.  Oh yes, and just to complicate matters, Meena can foresee when people are going to die.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on vampires who are, after all, already dead.

I really enjoyed this book, right up until the ending.  I would have given it five stars, except the author so obviously set it up for a sequel.  I love series, but I want each book to actually have an ending.  This one did not end to my satisfaction at all.

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Strange Angels (Strange Angels, #1) by Lili St. Crow

This is the best Young Adult book I have read this summer.  It is one of the nominees for YALSA’s Teens Top Ten list for 2010 and is my favorite so far.

I know many readers will make the comparison between Strange Angels and Twilight.  There is a female protagonist and two men who both strive for her attention.  There are vampires and werewolves and other paranormal creatures.

The main difference to me is that Dru is not a victim like Bella constantly seems to be.  She and her father fight the evil creatures of “The Real World.”  If you are familiar with the television series Supernatural, you will definitely see the similarities.

I purchased this book for our school library in January.  Unfortunately, it was only checked out six times.  I will make it a point to promote this book next year.  I believe the students who enjoy the Vampire Academy and House of Night series will love this one.

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Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

First of all, I cannot decide if the book was really that slow or I was just not in the mood to read it.  There is no action at all.  There is not even a lot of relationship development because the two main characters had “known” each other for years.

I did like the twist she had on lycanthropy.  The way werewolves were created was classic, but their lives were totally different.  She introduced another major difference as well, but I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone.

I read this book because it is on this year’s YALSA Teens Top Ten nominee list.  As a school librarian, I need to read the books, so I know which students will most appreciate them.  A number of my girls enjoy the “I love him/her, but we can never be together” plot, so I believe the book will be popular.

The sequel Linger is due out July 20, 2010.

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Bullet (Anita Blake, #19) by Laurell K. Hamilton

I discovered Anita Blake when the third book Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3) was published.  This series immediately went on my “must buy” list.  Although I have preferred some books over others, it was not until the last one, Flirt, that I almost decided to stop reading them.

Thank goodness I gave her one more chance.

Bullet goes back to the Anita books I love.  Jean Claude is back along with Richard.  I really thought we had pretty much seen the end of Richard except as a peripheral character.  However, he’s back and just in time.

There are good vampires and bad vampires, lions and tigers and (Wait! No bears yet.) All of my favorite characters are back and even some of my “creep me out” ones.

Relationships are evolving and in some ways going in directions I never expected.

All in all, my first thought at the end of the book was “When is the next one coming out?!?

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Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I originally purchased this book because I loved the cover.  Yes, I know, but what can I say?  Unfortunately, the story did not live up to my hopes.

First of all, I kept thinking “Edward and Bella.”  We have a dark, dangerous male and a clueless female who is always a victim.  At least Edward tried to stay away from Bella.

The author also seems to be following the new antihero theme of angels.  I cannot think of many titles right off, but two do come to mind.  Cynthia Leitich Smith released Eternal last year and Lauren Kate released Fallen.  Both of these books feature angels.

There was also a season of the television show Supernatural a couple of years ago that centered around angels as well.  I guess we can expect more of the same.

I didn’t really care for the book, but it did hold my interest.  The ending also kept me guessing which is definitely a strong point.

Even though this book will never be a top pick for me, I did find it interesting enough that I am looking forward to the sequel.  Crescendo is to be released October 19, 2010.

Hush, Hush is one of the 2010 Teens Top Ten nominees.  Personally, I do not know why it made the list, but I did not like last year’s angel themed book Eternal either.

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The Mane Event (Pride #1) by Shelly Laurenston

The Mane EventI was actually re-reading this book yesterday while I waited for the UPS truck to come with Beast Behaving Badly, the most recent book in the series.  It contains the first two stories in the Pride series: Christmas Pride and Shaw’s Tail.

I don’t even know how many times I have read these books, but everyone of them is hysterically funny.  These are some of the books I pick up when I am tired of reading “serious” books.  I consider them some of my comfort reads.  If I want something I know I will enjoy, I can count on Shelly Laurenston.

In Christmas Pride, Desiree “Dez” McDermott is an New York cop investigating the death of a member of Mason “Mace” Llewellyn’s pride.  Of course, she has no idea that Mace or the victim are actually lion shape changers.  Unfortunately, Dez has always been a dog person.  Some of the funniest scenes involve Mace and Dez’s two Rottweilers.

Because I have read this book so many times before, I am not going to re-read Shaw’s Tail again right now.  I can tell you, however, it is about Brendon Shaw, another member of the pride, and Ronnie Lee Reed, a member of the Smith wolf pack from Tennessee.

Just as a heads up, you need to know the language is very rough and the sex is very explicit, in case that makes a difference to you.

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