Full reviews of In Quest of Theta Magic, Ravenous, In Over Her Head, and Red-Headed Stepchild can be found at Otherwhere Book Reviews.


IN QUEST OF THETA MAGIC by Enid Wilson - sci-fi, paranormal romance
It's an ok book, but since it's only 166 pages and self-published it's a little too pricey for just being ok.  You can also get it at Lulu.com as an e-book for a whole lot cheaper.  This story started out as Pride and Prejudice fan-fiction and the remnants are still there in the conversational language, the flighty mother, and the ghosts of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth can be seen in Dean and Elana.

LOVER AVENGED by J.R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, book 7) - paranormal romance, urban fantasy
This series is definitely paranormal romance, with a couple hooking up in every book, but as the series goes on there's ever more going on with the Omega and his slayers.  This book was good, but a little stereotypical if you ask me.  Here's Rehvenge the big, bad drug dealer who's also half sympath, but look, all he wanted and needed was the love of a good and pure woman to make him want to turn it all around.  Awwwwww, yea, I was a little disappointed because I really liked Rehv before this book.

RAVENOUS by Sharon Ashwood (The Dark Forgotten, book 1) - urban fantasy
Classified as paranormal romance, but I truely don't see it.  What I did see was the great world building and yet another possible apocalypse that urban fantasy is known for.  Holly and Alessandro are fighting feelings for eachother, but that never eclipses the impending demon invasion their city is facing.  Don't let the cover throw you off either, it's just another case of the author having no say in the matter.

FIRE by Kristin Cashore (I got an ARC, be jealous) - YA, fantasy
The rest of you can get this book in late September/early October.  The ARC says September and Amazon says October 5th and since it's quite a few months away they might even change it again.  If the cover on the finished product comes out half as good as the cover on the ARCs I'd buy it for that alone.  Seriously, for being so simple  it still may be the prettiest cover I've ever seen. 
This is a sort of prequel to Graceling, but since there's only one crossover character it can be read as a stand alone without any problem.  All but the beginning of this book take place in a land called The Dells which is across the mountains from The Seven Kingdoms in Graceling.  The Dells don't have Gracelings, they have monsters.  Fire is the last of the human-shaped monsters and determined to undo the damage her father did to the kingdom.  This book is all about redemption from the sins of the father and life during wartime.  I hope to have my full review up sometime soon.

IN OVER HER HEAD by Judi Fennell (The Mer, book 1) - chick lit, paranormal romance
Pretty fluffy and not what I'd normally read.  This is probably ok for a beach read, or if you really have a thing for Mer people.  Strong parallels can be drawn between this book and Disney's The Little Mermaid so the originality isn't really there.  The author's fear of water kind of ruins the way the Mer live.  Why do the Mer sleep on soggy cushions stolen from shipwrecks?  Why are they wearing soggy, heavy human clothing under the sea?  Now I don't want to be a Mer just to avoid living in a bathing suit.

RED-HEADED STEPCHILD by Jaye Wells (Sabina Kane, book 1) - urban fantasy
If you're looking for a good anti-hero series this first book shows real promise.  For some reason it seems ok to show that basically good guys have dark sides too, maybe because all it will take is a good woman to redeem them?  What's it going to take to redeem Sabina I wonder?  The truth?  She's an outcast because of her mixed blood (vampire and mage), but her grandmother has made her a pariah by having her take up the mantle of assassin for the vampire council.  It takes Sabina a long time to "wake up", but by the end of the book the blinders are off and I really want to know what she's going to do in the next book.

BAD TO THE BONE by Jeri Smith-Ready (WVMP Radio, book 2) - urban fantasy
How can anyone not like the idea of vampire DJs playing music from the era they "died" in?  If you visit the WVMP site there's even playlists for each DJ.  This time around the religious right have their own radio station, but is it a coincidence they're on the same frequency as WVMP and continually cut off Regina's show?  There's even a vampire dog that becomes quite attached to Ciara, so cute!  I highly recommend this series.

Full reviews of Wondrous Strange and Graceling can be found on Otherwhere Book Reviews.

WONDROUS STRANGE by Lesley Livingston - YA, urban fantasy
If you like Holly Black, Melissa Marr, or O.R. Melling give this book a try.  There's urban fantasy backed by actual legend and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Interesting mix and very well done despite the fact that a few parts could have used a little more explanation.  I'm hoping a sequel is in the works because the ending left quite a things hanging, not the least of which being Sonny and Kelley's burgeoning relationship.

GRACELING by Kristin Cashore - YA, fantasy
I LOVED this book!  Katsa and Po are now my favorite couple.  This story may be set in a fantasy world, but Katsa is definitely a modern woman and could give any female protagonist in urban fantasy a run for her money.  She never wants to marry or have children, and she cand beat or kill any man with her killing Grace.  Some people in her world are born Graced with an extreme skill which could be almost anything from swimming, running, sword fighting, mind reading, to Katsa's Grace of killing.  She may have been raised by a king to be his thug, but she eventually comes into her own.  She even goes so far as to found the Council to help anyone she possibly can.  Recommended for everyone ages 13+ because there is some violence even though most of it isn't very graphic.

IN THE BLOOD by Adrian Phoenix (The Maker's Song, book 2) - dark fantasy, urban fantasy
Yay, more Dante and Heather!  Heather and Dante thought the nightmare of Bad Seed was finally over, but now the FBI and other government agencies are scrambling to take care of loose ends.  Heather also finds another name in the Bad Seed files, a name Dante can't remember no matter how many times she repeats it.  While all of this is going on Lucien (a fallen angel) disappears and then cuts his bond to Dante which freaks everyone out.  This book is just as dark and tortured as the first so if you don't like horror or thrillers along with your urban fantasy you may want to skip it.

VISIONS OF HEAT by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changelings, book 2) - paranormal romance
Faith NightStar is an F-Psy, one of the strongest in fact, but she feels herself slipping and goes into Changeling territory to find answers.  Psy live in Silence (without emotions) now which means foresight is mostly used to see coming changes in the economy and businesses, but that's not what Faith is seeing.  Faith is seeing through the eyes of a killer and Silence had made her unable to deal with what she's seeing and feeling through him.  Vaughn is more jaguar than human, but could that be just what Faith needs to help keep her safe until the killer can be caught?

CURSE THE DAWN by Karen Chance (Cassie Palmer, book 4) - urban fantasy
This is my favorite book in the series so far.  There have been humorous parts in past books, but this book has an odd undercurrent of humor all the way through and I love it.  One of my favorite parts is when Cassie and Pritkin trade bodies and she decides to do some "manscaping" by shaving his legs.  You just know that Pritkin is not going to react well when he gets his body back.

Full reviews of A Rush of Wings and The Awakening can be found on Otherwhere Book Reviews.

THE AWAKENING by Kelley Armstrong (Darkest Powers, book 2) - YA, urban fantasy
I seem to fly through most of Kelley's books and her YA trilogy is no exception.  I can hardly wait for the third book to come out.  If you love her Women of the Otherworld series you will have no problem getting into the Darkest Powers trilogy since it's set in the same world.

A RUSH OF WINGS by Adrian Phoenix (The Maker's Song, book 1) - dark fantasy, urban fantasy
What could be better than vampires in goth gear and fallen angels in New Orleans?  Well ok, for you thriller and horror readers there's also a government conspiracy and a sociopath on the loose.  If you like your tortured heroes really tortured like Acheron then Dante is your man.

SLAVE TO SENSATION by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changelings, book 1) - paranormal romance
A paranormal romance series with good world-building and a very interesting storyline, so far anyway.  The Psy are human as far as I can tell, except for their mental facilties.  There are weaker Psy, but most of them seem to be strong in at least one skill whether it be telepathy, foresight, telekinesis, or something else.  The other thing that makes them different is they are all connected through the PsyNet which sounds similar to the internet if it was directly hooked up to your brain.  The changelings sound pretty much the same as shifters or weres in other books.

MAGIC STRIKES by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels, book 3) - urban fantasy
Curran and Kate are so cute in this book!  She's convinced he keeps coming after her simply because he likes a challenge, but once she picks up information about were mating rituals she knows she's in trouble.  She and the were community soon have bigger problems when dead weres are suddenly being left all over the city.  Curran has forbid any of his weres from the underground fights, but since that seems to be the only clue to all this trouble Kate rushes in with Curran right behind her whether she wants him there or not.

Full reviews for The Graveyard Book, The Magician's Apprentice, and Bones of Faerie can be found over on Otherwhere Book Reviews.  The full review for Angels' Blood will be up soon.
 
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman - YA, urban fantasy
A graveyard full of ghosts, a vampire, ghouls, and even a guardian spirit called The Sleer sounds like the making of a great story to me.  There's only one thing wrong with it, Neil Gaiman wrote it.  This means all the fun, sense of awe, and even the few scares have been sucked right out.  All we're left with is the ghost (ha, a pun!) of what this book could've been.
 
THE MAGICIAN'S APPRENTICE by Trudi Canavan - fantasy
This book is a sort of prequel to The Black Magician trilogy, but since it happens hundreds of years before it can also be read as a stand alone novel.  This story explains how healing with magic first came about along with the events of the last war between Kyralia and Sachaka.  It's very long and definitely character driven, but I still found it holding my attention quite nicely.
 
BONES OF FAERIE by Janni Lee Simner - YA, post-apocalyptic fantasy
What war finally destroyed the world as we know it?  Was it with Germany?  China?  North Korea?  No, it was our war with Faerie.  Instead of getting left with wastelands and poison air we have sentient plants that attack us at every turn and shadows that are cold enough to kill.  Magic is running its own course taking root in plants, animals, and even children.  In the village of Franklin Falls all magic is cast out and if that means leaving babies out in the forest at night so be it.
 
ANGELS' BLOOD by Nalini Singh (The Guild Hunter, book 1) - paranormal romance
I haven't read any of her Psy-Changelings series, but after enjoying this book I'm going to have to try at least one.  Anyway, in this alternate reality angels have always existed.  The Archangels watch over their territories and keep their underlings, angels and vampires, under control.  Guild hunters are also needed to capture wayward vampires running from their angel contracts and any other vampire that's causing trouble.  This book introduces us to their world and Archangel Raphael along with Guild Hunter Elena.  Quite a few angel secrets are divulged throughout the rogue Archangel hunt, but something tells me Elena's going to turn their world upside down in the next book.
 
SPELL GAMES by T.A. Pratt (Marla Mason, book 4) - urban fantasy
This book was good because I love Marla, B, and Rondeau, but more could have been done with the sorcerer Bulliard.  He worships a mushroom god, he can, almost instantly, take complete control of anyone with the help of his mushrooms, and yet he's in the book just so he can walk away near the end before the shit hits the fan?  I know not every book in the series should end with Marla killing some horribly powerful sorcerer and their god, but if you're going to have him in the book put him to good use.
 
HUNTED by P.C. & Kristin Cast (House of Night, book 5) - YA, urban fantasy
Good book, but the Okie-speak is getting a bit much.  I swear I can hear the twang in my head now.  As this book starts Zoey and her friends are hiding out, but a serious injury causes them to return to the House of Night.  While there Zoey and her friends discover they're not as alone as they thought.  With everyone believing in and depending on her can Zoey figure out the riddles wrapped in poems in time to drive Kalona away?

Full review of Need is up at Otherwhere Book Reviews
 
NEED by Carrie Jones - YA, urban fantasy
  If you like Wicked Lovely or Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr you will like this book since the subject and writing style is similar.  There are pixies and weres in Maine and Zara unwittingly finds herself right in the middle of things when her mother sends her to stay with her grandmother in Maine. 
This book is a very quick read with plenty of secrets about the town and Zara's family revealed along the way.  You'll also learn a little bit about Amnesty International since that's Zara main cause and she also lists phobias to herself or outloud when she's nervous.  Pretty good book overall, but I had issues with the ending which should be resolved in the sequel Carrie is currently working on.
 
WHITE WITCH, BLACK CURSE by Kim Harrison (Rachel Morgan, book 7) - urban fantasy
I have come to the conclusion that Rachel might just be a ho.  I mean, who isn't she attracted to?  If Ivy were male this whole blood balance, I don't want to be your scion thing would've never come into play at all.  In this book Rachel and Marshal have their moment and Rachel moves on to lusting after a ghost.  Wasn't she even attracted to Jenks when he was human size?  Moving on from Rachel's ho or not to ho status we finally see an end to the whole "Who killed Kisten?" question, but you have to wait til the very end of the book, hah!  This book is mostly about a rampaging banshee, her baby that can't control her feeding habits, and the banshee's husband who happens to be a raging psychopath in his own right.  Lots of things to look forward to in this book, but there's only one Trent scene.  I love Trent OK?  :P

*Full reviews for Bone Crossed and Dream Warrior can be found at Otherwhere Book Reviews *
 
BONE CROSSED by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series, book 4) - urban fantasy
  I liked this infinitely better than the last book in the series, Iron Kissed.  In fact, after that book I thought I was done with the series, but decided to give this book a try and hope for the best.  There is a lot more of Stefan in this book than previous books which I loved because he is my favorite character.  I still don't really like Adam and Mercy as a couple.  Adam is such a hollow sort of character in this series, we know more about almost all the secondary characters than we do about Adam.
 
DREAM WARRIOR by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dream-Hunter, book 4) - paranormal romance
It's true this is a Dream-Hunter book, but this book introduces a lot of new characters and the start of a war for the second stage in the Dark-Hunter series so it's a pretty important read.  I liked the book, but all the new characters popping up in this one was very confusing.  All the gods and goddesses are also getting hard to keep track of, you have the Greek gods, the Atlantean gods, some Sumerian gods, Source gods (what exactly is the Source anyway?), and now you have demons from different Pantheons too.  Just when you think you're done you have to remember the Appolities, daimons, Dark-Hunters, and Were-Hunters too.  Is it nap time yet?  I need a notebook handy just to follow along with these books.  It's a good thing I like complicated series.
 
THE TAROT CAFE VOL. 5-7 by Park Sang-Sun - manhwa, dark fantasy
Pamela's (the tarot reader) story moves pretty fast in these last three volumes, in fact I don't think there's anymore tarot readings for customers at all.  A stranger gives her a box to put Belial's necklace in and tells her that each bead she puts in will unlock one of her lost memories.  As she remembers more and more Ash, who thought he was on top of things, is quickly brought low and Belus becomes more important to Pamela than ever.  I liked the ending and I liked the afterward even more.  I am now ready to read the Tarot Cafe novel and see what author, Chandra Rooney can bring to the series.
 
V.B. ROSE VOL. 5 by Banri Hidaka - manga, YA, romance
This is my fluff series I'm addicted to.  The covers are great and the story is funny and cute.  Ageha and Arisaka are on their first date, but they end up talking shop and arguing over designs so, the date could've gone better.  Ageha is convinced it wasn't a date because she's been told that as soon as a girl likes Arisaka they are transferred to V.B.'s sister shop, Rosa's.  While she's making sure her feelings don't show Arisaka is brooding because he does like her, but he has abondonment issues stemming from his childhood.  These two are just so cute to watch!
 
REVELATIONS by Melissa De La Cruz (Blue Bloods, book 3) - YA, urban fantasy
Schuyler is a homewrecking, slutpuppy in this book!  What happened to our heroine?  The Force twins also being soulmates still creeps me too although I understand they're these fallen angels that get reborn every cycle it's still a lot like incest.  Schuyler's grandfather is out of the picture again.  Why even bother writing him in?  I think he's had like maybe 10 lines since he showed up.  I was disappointed by this book since I liked the other two so much.  Just seeing Schuyler doing something that's more in line with Mimi Force's character was very off-putting and wrong.
 
UNDONE by Rachel Caine (Outcast Season, book 1) - urban fantasy
I loved this book!  Outcast Season is the spin-off of her much loved Weather Warden series.  Joanne, David, and Lewis briefly appear at the beginning of this book and they may pop up again in a future book, but I think this series can stand on its own without having to read the Weather Warden books first.  The heroine of this series is Cassiel, formerly a djinn now trapped in human flesh for denying Ashan's (leader of the Old Djinn) request.  She's never been around humans, nor has she ever wanted to, but it's pretty fun to watch her fumble through everyday human rituals early on in the book.  Ashan has cut her off from the aetheric plane, but she still needs that connection to survive so teaming up with a Warden is her only choice.  Throughout this book, and probably throughout the series, we see Cassiel grow.  When she was a djinn she hardly thought about humans and if she did she thought of them as a lower lifeform.  In her human skin it's children that first make her re-think her prejudices.  I highly recommend anything and everything by this author, she knows how to tell a damn good story no matter the genre or subject.
 
 

AT GRAVE'S END by Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntress, book 3) - urban fantasy
Every book in this series has been full of action and the third is no exception.  Bones and Cat have finally got their act together and are working side by side to take out rogue vampires.  They may think everything's fine and dandy, but Tate is still determined to break them up and their new enemy is aiming to take Cat out permanently.  There's even zombies and angry ghosts towards the end.  See the full review at Otherwhere Book Reviews.
LORD OF MISRULE by Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires, book 5) - YA, urban fantasy
I love this series, in fact the only thing I don't like about this series is how short the books are.  I know it's a YA series, but look at the Harry Potter and Twilight books, some of those could be used as doorstops.  I'd definitely read these books in order as this book starts in the middle of a vampire warzone which will leave you completely clueless if you didn't read book four.  So Morganville is a warzone and all the humans that had vampire protectors are basically left to fend for themselves.  Feelings of abandonment quickly turn to anger, and while Amelie and Bishop are gathering their armies the humans start killing any vampire or human sympathizers they see.  Full review up soon.

It's been awhile huh?  Well, what happened you see is that the winter season of japanese and korean dramas started up and since I am hopelessly addicted to quite a few shows I've been busy keeping up with them.  Meanwhile, my reading time has suffered because even when I'm not watching them I'm waiting on pins and needles for the next episode.  Soooo, here we go!
A LOST TOUCH OF MAGIC by Amy Tolnitch - paranormal, historical romance
If you're looking for a light, character driven romance this was a enjoyable, fast read.  If you're looking for substance or historical accuracy keep looking.  The heroine is feisty and can talk to animals (that must be the paranormal element because except for 2 short visits from a fairy queen that's about it).  The hero is a brooding laird that starts off the book in self-imposed exile from his clan til his sister's ghost (I forgot about that paranormal element) tells him he must go back to save his other sister and his clan.  See my full review at Otherwhere Book Reviews, just scroll down.
THIRTEEN ORPHANS: BREAKING THE WALL by Jane Lindskold - urban fantasy
Drawing from the chinese zodiac and the game of mah jong this book is written more like high fantasy even though it takes place in the present.  The magical system of the Thirteen has been bound into the game of mah jong so a passing familiarity with the game will do you some good in following along with spells, and even divinations are done with the tiles.  Since this is the first book in the series there's a lot of set-up for future books, characters gathering together, magical and history lessons, and getting the inside look at character point of views along with their strengths and weaknesses.  There's even a budding romance.  To see my full review visit Otherwhere Book Reviews.
THE TAROT CAFE VOL. 1 - 4 by Park Sang-Sun - manhwa (korean manga), dark fantasy
I don't know what this falls under in Korea, but if it were japanese it would definately fall into the Bishōnen category.  This series also pays homage to the Greek and Shakespearian tragedies through Pamela's tarot readings of love lost and unrequited.  Starting with volume 2 we see more and more of Pamela's own tragic story.  Soon, it seems everyone wants a piece of Pamela, humans, vampires, werewolves, even ghosts.  I love this series so far it's just too bad it ended in seven volumes.  The good news is that Tokyp Pop did release the first Tarot Cafe novel this month, but it's not by the original author of the series so I'll reserve judgement until I read it.  Full review up soon!