Persy -- Cast In Shadow by Michelle Sagara

Kaylin Neya has a past (don't we all?). But she's trying to forget it. Now, she tells herself, she is a Hawk, serving the land of Elantra. Hawks are the eyes and ears of Elantra, serving to maintain the peace along with the Swords and Wolves (it's complicated, I think... that or just badly explained in the book). But it's hard to escape your past when you've got strange powers that don't go along with anything the Mages understand, and when your arms are covered in strange markings.

It's also hard when the nightmare from your past appears, and you're supposed to work alongside him. And a Dragon. Yeah.

Okay, so it's hard to sum up this book with a dramatic, realistic tone, so let's try it this way: Kaylin grew up in the Fiefs, a basically lawless group of lands each ruled by a Fieflord. There, mysterious and terrifying killings began, and all the victims had the same markings as Kaylin. But when she was thirteen, she managed to escape into Elantra, where she began serving the empire by becoming a Hawk.

But then one day, she is assigned a new mission by the Hawklord to go back to the Nightshade, the fief where she grew up, to investigate the reappearance of the murders of marked children. And her two partners are Severn, the boy she grew up with in the Nightshade (who did something REALLY BAD, but we don't get to know what that was until halfway through the book, so I won't say anything), and Lord Tiamaris, a member of the Dragon Caste (they aren't fully explained until later in the book either, so... no spoilers). Supposedly, both Severn and Tiamaris have become Hawks, but Severn might as well be a criminal, and Dragons never become Hawks.

Hijinks ensue. Yeehaw.

Okay, I sound sarcastic, but I actually did enjoy Cast In Shadow. Well, mostly. I would've enjoyed it if the writing was...better. It felt very much like a rough draft, like it could've been amazing if Michelle Sagara had just gone over it a few times. There were random sentences in there that were probably put in for poeticness, but they just made things confusing and cluttered. On the other hand, most of the writing was un-cluttered. There wasn't nearly enough description, and I had to fill in most of the gaps with my imagination and hope I was close to the truth.

For instance... how the heck do they get from Elantra to the Fiefs? Everytime they'd go it seemed like they just walked over and it took about five minutes. If the Fiefs are lawless and so hard for the Dragon Emperor (who I think rules Elantra? It was hard to tell) to control, then shouldn't they be a little farther away than NEXT DOOR?

There's also a lot of chitchat, which seems to be how most of the explaining is done. Oftentimes, I couldn't tell who was speaking, either.

The characters are pretty cool though, for the most part. Lord Tiamaris is freakin' awesome. FREAKIN' AWESOME, I SAID!! *glomps him*

Ahem, anyway.

Severn is just okay. Bit of a cliché, but he pulls it off passably. Lord Nightshade (ruler of Nightshade) is pretty cool. And then we get to Kaylin Neya. Heh.

Basically, she's pretty darn stupid, but that makes her kind of endearing. I mean, everyone knows she's stupid, and I love how she's not one of the big shots at Hawk HQ. She's lowest of the low, always late, never proper, and never really knows what's going on. She failed pretty much every class in Hawk school, which gives everyone else the excuse to explain things to the reader.

Though sometimes, they don't explain. She'll say something stupid, and the other people will look at each other and go "You didn't tell her?" "Of course not." "Okay, let's leave it that way." and they'll just carry on with their lives. It gives the impression that Michelle Sagara hasn't really figured out the details yet.

Like I said, rough draft.

There are like, five more books in the Elantra series, so maybe she'll get around to explaining a few things. I'm hoping her writing gets better too. The second book is called Cast In Courtlight, which sounds absolutely stupid, but by "Court" they mean the Barrani High Court, so maybe it'll cool after all (the Barrani are one of the high races, along with the humans and Dragons and... other people I can't remember). Although with her stupidity, I don't see how Kaylin would last two seconds in a Court, much less a Barrani one.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like fantasy worlds like Poison Study (Maria V. Snyder) or Graceling (Kristin Cashore); are looking for a fantasy book that's not very typical; have a fondness for unattractive covers (I really don't like this cover, I'm sorry); if you like awesome Dragon people (WE LOVE YOU, TIAMARIS); or if you have a fondness for vampires, dragons, or zombies and want to read every single book that so much as mentions them.

Persy -- Interview With The Vampire

I only just got around to reading the great gothic vampire classic, Interview With The Vampire by the renowned Anne Rice. I know, for someone who says she likes real vampires, you'd think I'd have gotten to Anne Rice earlier, but oh well. I finally read it.

One night in modern America (?), Louis the vampire meets with a young reporter to tell his life story, which is pretty long and action-packed. It starts centuries ago, when Louis first came to America from France and was turned into a vampire by Lestat. And... well, Louis's story spans across centuries, mostly involving himself and Lestat along with a few other vampires that come and go, namely Claudia and Armand. Throughout it all, you get glimpses of the future during scenes when Louis, mysteriously alone, interacts with his human interviewer.

I'm going to be entirely honest here. I didn't like it.

I'm sorry, but it was just... geez. Anne Rice's writing is gorgeous, but... I hated all the characters. From the beginning, I really wanted Louis to just kill Lestat and then throw himself into the sunlight so they'd all be put out of their dreadful misery. That's pretty much the basis of the entire book: misery. Immortal misery. Misery spanning centuries and centuries. Misery in America, misery in Europe. Misery with one person, misery with a whole group of people.

MIIIISEEEEEERY!!!!!

Basically, Louis's a sap and Lestat is a jerk. Claudia's insane, but that's not her fault, so mostly I just feel sorry for her. Armand's actually all right, but he's not in much and is also in a miserable situation... BECAUSE OF LOUIS AND LESTAT.

So basically, I'm right back at the beginning. Lestat and Louis should both just die.

I am going to read some later novels by Anne Rice, because her writing is pretty good, but Interview With The Vampire was just a huge disappointment.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like gothic vampiric stuff; don't read books looking for cool characters; just want to say you've read it; or if you find yourself in an incredible state of misery and for some reason want to read about other people in misery.

Persy -- The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, sister of the handsomest (and nicest) guy in school, and the girl with unanswered questions. Like, what happened all those years ago when her brother Jude came home covered in blood and Daniel Kalbi completely disappeared?

By the way, Daniel used to be their next door neighbor and they were best friends growing up. Then Daniel lived with them for a few months after his dad disappeared. Then Daniel disappeared.

Grace used to ask her brother what happened. She used to bring up the topic with her family. But no one said anything, so they settled into silence. Because that's the way the Divine family is: they don't discuss the past and they don't discuss their problems, not even with each other.

Then comes the day when Daniel reappears, sitting at a desk in school with a completely new look and strange new powers. At first Grace is determined to find out what's going on, but does she really want to know?

It seems like she doesn't have any idea, because she's constantly changing her mind throughout the entire book. I swear, sometimes the girl has no curiosity. Though I have to say, she is pretty smart. After all, the smart thing to do is stay away from the dangerous teenage boy who seems to be in love with you but has dark powers and tells you to stay away (I'm looking at you, Bella Swan). So yeah, Grace follows her common sense and stays away every once in a while, but she's so bipolar that it doesn't last long.

Plus she's probably the most naive teenage girl ever. Boy does she have her stupid moments.

In the beginning (and actually, throughout the whole book), I was a little irritated with Bree Despain's vision of a Christian family. But as the story continues, Grace is made aware of the fact that her family has issues, so it's not that they're just being "good Christians," so I felt a little better after that.

The way the book is written is also a little annoying. It's mostly flashbacks, which do help to tell the story in the right order (kind of...?), but can be very cumbersome. In fact, lots of the scenes, both in the present and the past, just feel cumbersome. You could probably take out a hundred pages or so (or at least summarize them), and you'd still have the same story, just moving a little quicker.

And maybe if Grace would stop changing her frickin' mind.

One thing I really do like about The Dark Divine is the werewolves. Nowhere on the back of the book or the inside or in any summary anywhere does it mention the werewolves, but I'm going to give you a little spoiler and tell you that there are some. And they're very cool werewolves. It is not every day you read a Christian werewolf novel that somehow, inexplicably pulls it off.

Another pleasant surprise is the horror aspect. There were times when I really didn't want to put the book down because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and I had a tingling at the back of my neck. Unfortunately, the tingling dissipated fairly quickly.

The twist ending is also very well done, but it would've been better if it had actually ended there. Ugh, how I hate happy little epilogues. They ruin the whole tone of the book (unless you're reading a happy little novel, in which case, it's perfectly fine).

So I have very mixed feelings about this book. Some of it, like the werewolves, is very good. Other parts, like Grace, make me groan. But it's surprisingly good, and I find myself recommending it despite the idiot main character. I don't expect much at all from the second book (The Lost Saint, oooh, sounds amazing), but the first one is worth a look.

--Persy

You might like this if you: have always wanted to read a Christian werewolf book; are looking for a new take on werewolves; or if you just have nothing else to read. Okay, so I might be struggling to find reasons to like this now.

Wednesday Scrolls - Belated January Review

January already feels like fifteen years ago, but here am I, Persy, to tell you about the best and worst of the first month of 2012! In Janury, I read a total of 22 books and 3726 pages! I'm definitely off to a good start (I'm not going to say anything about February, though...

Best January Book: I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Go read this book. Right now. It'll take you five seconds.

Honorable Mention: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and Marco's Millions by William Sleator (out of 22 books, of course I'm going to have multiple honorable mentions).
Worst January Book: What Happens In Vegas, Dies In Vegas by Mark Everett Stone. All the characters were the same, and...need I really get into the completely bizarre time travel?

Dishonorable Mention: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. Stay far away. I'm getting my wisdom teeth plus four premolars surgically removed tomorrow, so stay tuned for a probably late and senseless review by me this weekend.

--Persy

Konnichiwa, everyone! Arty at your service. This January, I read 20 books, three of which were manga.

Best January Book: The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan, the eighth Ranger's Apprentice book. RA is like How To Train Your Dragon for me... only ten times worse. I'm an addict.

Honorable Mention: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (don't look at me like that - I like the books, okay?) and Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner.

Worst January Book: Behind The Gates by Eva Gray, the first Tomorrow Girls book. The Hunger Games for tweens. Just... don't. Unless you're having trouble sleeping.

Dishonorable Mention: I... really don't have any other books that I particularly disliked. January was a rather lukewarm month.

And that was my literary January. (Whoa, that almost rhymes. Almost.) Next Wednesday I hope to have another Scrolls up, but we know how that goes. Sayonara!

-Arty

Persy -- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Let me just warn you. I'm about to start another senseless rant. I'll probably swear some. And shout. Possibly mention a few unrelated things.

"Elena Michaels seems like the typically strong and sexy modern woman." Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the back of books? They're usually ridiculous, which is why I don't apy attention to them most of the time. I briefly decided to go into book designing to make the covers less misleading, because it got so freakin' annoying.

Elena Michaels is the typical adult urban fantasy heroine. Whining about being a werewolf. Whine whine whine whine WHINE WHINE WHINE SHUT UP ALREADY!!

Ahem. Anyway. Elena, the only female werewolf in the world (in the WORLD!), leaves her pack and goes off to live a 'human' life, which apparently means getting a nice boyfriend and a job and being in general a very nice and boring woman.

I'm briefly going to take another detour and mention that Elena's image of 'normal' is the image I most hate. She seems to think that if she wears the right clothes and says the right things and acts the right way, she'll be normal and acceptable and good. I hate this. Looking a certain way does not make you a good person, and acting one way when you're really completely different doesn't make you that person either. If you want to actually be a good person, try and make yourself a better person.

Back to the book. Elena gives us some totally interesting flashbacks for about a two hundred pages or so, detailing her tragic history of abuse and foster parents (reeeal interesting stuff, let me tell you) and the entire histories of everyone else in her Pack before we finally get around to anything plot-related. Basically, some rogue werewolves are prowling around causing a ruckus, and it takes over 400 pages to do ANYTHING about it.

Instead of focusing on this problem, Kelley Armstrong decided to have Elena snuggling up and being all lovey-dovey with Clay, who is Elena's ex-fiancé and the one who turned her into a werewolf. So even though Elena's always declaring how much she hates his guts, she pretty much jumps into bed with him as soon as she returns to the pack to help deal with the rogue werewolves. And the whole time, she's barely remembering her boyfriend back in Toronto, where she lives her 'human' life. And then, whenever Clay tries to get serious about getting back together with her, she shouts her freakin' head off and won't listen to a word he says because he's "sooooo evil". I really hate her guts.

...Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh I really reall REALLY hate her guts.

So near the end at the big climactic whatever, when Clay's been kidnapped and might die, Elena freaks out completely, but keeps telling everyone it's not because she loves him, she just knows how important Clay is to the Pack. But THEN, when she's frantically trying to free Clay before they're both murdered, she has this inspirational moment that goes like this...

"As I met his eyes, I knew how wrong I'd been. I didn't come back here for Jeremy or the Pack. I came to get him back for me. Because I loved him, loved him so much I'd risk everything for the faintest hope of saving him. Even now, as I realized he was right, that there wasn't time to get him out, I knew I wouldn't leave him there. I'd rather die."

Then die already, you stupid woman.

And there was obviously time to get him out, because you got him out pretty easily and lived happily ever after.

And another thing I can't stand about Kelley Armstrong's writing is that it takes her FOREVER to say anything! Her paragraphs are HUGE and pretty much say the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again!

*bangs head against wall some more, moans* Whyyyyyy can't people write good urban fantasy heroines...

Okay, enough about that $&!%. On a completely unrelated note, I have yet another blog for you guys to check out. Persy's Map Of Anime isn't really a blog, more just a place where I'll be posting links for anime whenever I have the time, because it can get really difficult to find good places for anime.

On another unrelated, I GOT SOME AWESOME SHOES. Be jealous. I'll be putting pictures on my blog Practicing Procrastination at some point, because these shoes are just so awesome. Seriously.

Be very jealous.

--Persy

Persy -- 2011 Book Party!

Welcome to 2012! Do I really need to say that I felt like a time traveler last night, when all my friends in Ireland were celebrating the new year, and yet I was still back in 2011? How epic is that?

My reading goal for 2011 was 180 books. I was about twenty books short halfway through December, so I went on a major reading marathon reading tons of novellas and manga, and I REACHED MY GOAL! Of course, now I've practically read myself sick, so I'm not sure when I'll next finish a book, but oh well.

So in 2011, I read 180 books. 17 were comic books of some sort, and 29 were manga. The first book I finished in 2011 was Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, by...well, H.P. Lovecraft. And the last book I finished in 2011 was Fractured Fables, an anthology collected by Jim Valentino and Kristen K. Simon. Funny how I started and ended the year with anthologies (and I'm not even big on anthologies). Now let's talk about some of the highlights!

I thought it'd be cool to have 11 best books of 2011, buuut... I couldn't narrow it down that far. I had to get rid of several awesome books just to get to 13, so you'll just have to deal with it.

BEST BOOKS OF 2011! READ AND ADORE!

Dracula by Bram Stoker. Some people say Dracula is dull and tedious, but I love it. Sure, it takes a while, but it is so worth it. Especially if you read the Jae Lee illustrated version. Gorgeous. This is probably the best vampire novel of all time.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Mad cow disease. Punk angel. Dwarf. Road trip. Need I say more? If I do, then go read the review I wrote back in march.

The Ratastrophe Catastrophe by David Lee Stone. I reviewed this one in July, so feel free to read the longer version. Let's just say it's a hilarious, adventuresome retelling of the Pied Piper fairy tale.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. There's nothing quite like a good fantasy novel with dragons, and Dragon Slippers is one of the best. An awesome main character (who sews) and some trully awesome dragons, and a SUPER awesome ending!

The Courtney Crumrin books by Ted Naifeh. These graphic novels get better and better. Courtney is an awesome character, and it's amazing watching how she grows through the stories. The art's very cool too.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Katsa is one of the few female main characters who can go all kick-ass on the reader and still be cool. And a main character makes the book.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Of course I love all of Shakespeare's work, but Twelfth Night is one of my favorites, and it's the one I picked to go on the list. I have a thing for jesters, and the jester in Twelfth Night is awesome.

Ouran High School Host Club manga series by Bisco Hatori. Everyone knows that I'm obsessed with Ouran High School Host Club, anime and manga both. It's my dream to have a rose backdrop in my room so I can pose and quote the series more dramatically. So far my favorite volume is Vol. 4, in which the members of the host club do Alice In Wonderland. It's a retelling to rival even Into The Looking Glass.

Companions Of The Night by Vivian Vande Velde. It's possible I've mentioned this one every year, but that's because it stays awesom every time I read it. It doesn't get old. Ever. It's awesome. I love it. Best YA vampire book. Go read it. NOW NOW NOW.

The League series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Everyone knows I'm infatuated with Sherrilyn Kenyon's league series. In 2011 I reread the first three and read the newest one, Born of Shadows, for the first time. Epicness! I've reviewed the first two, so I'll try and get the last two in sometime.

Vurt by Jeff Noon. This is a very strange, surreal novel. It's a bit disgusting. It's rather intense. And it's very, very good.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Everyone knows I love time travel (when done well, of course). And behold, the mother of time travel stories! It's intense, it's horrifying, and it's wonderful!

The Zombie Powder manga series by Tite Kubo. My new favorite manga series. The art is very nice and very clear, and I really, really love the main character, Gamma Akutabi. I hope the rest of the volumes are just as good as the first.

**Honorable Mentions** These are all the pour souls that wouldn't fit into my Best Of. Feel free to ask about any of them!

Thirteen Days To Midnight (Patrick Carman); Dragon's Bait (Vivian Vande Velde); The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald); Nightlight (Harvard Lampoon); Weird Henry Berg (Sarah Sargent); Fire (Kristin Cashore); Tegami Bachi series (Hiroyuki Asada); Interstellar Pig (William Sleator); You Smell Dead (Chris P. Flesh); The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas); Flatland (Edwin A. Abbott); Eureka Seven series (Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou); Jabberwocky & Other Poems (Lewis Carroll); Astérix comics (Rene Goscinny); Poison Study (Maria V. Snyder); Holes (Louis Sachar); Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Jean Lee Latham); Being Dead (Vivian Vande Velde. Actually, just go read all of her stuff).

BOOKS TO AVOID. SERIOUSLY.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. A female forensic scientist in the middle ages? Er...no.

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder. Poison Study is sooo good...and the third book is so awful. Ugh. Don't go anywhere near it.

The Stargazer by Michele Jaffe. I love Bad Kitty, but Michele Jaffe's earlier adult novels are just...not so great. Stubborn, idiotic characters and a rather weak plot that doesn't really have anything to do with anything.

Cowboys & Aliens by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Dennis Calero. I read it 'cause the movie was awesome, but the comic book has nothing to do with the movie and is actually really awful.

Death Island by Joan Conning Afman. Oh my gosh I could not finish it. It's awful. So, so awful. This guy gets banished to this island, and his first escape plan is to build an airplane.

So how did YOU do in 2011, and how do you hope to do in 2012? My goal is to read either 181 books or 45,000 pages. Good luck to you all!

--Persy

Wednesday Scrolls - Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck, Urban Fantasy Arena

Yeah, we're still at it. Hope you're not tired of the Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck Saga, because we're barely halfway done. Last week we had the Fantasy Arena, which gave us our three Fantasy finalists: Hermione Granger, Courtney Crumrin, and Lady Fire. This week it's Urban Fantasy's turn.

I explained the process as best I could in the Fantasy Arena last time, so if you don't know, go back there and scan it, because I'm not going over it all again. If you want to review the competing chars, revisit the Urban Fantasy edition of LHWDS (the 'Heroine' link).

And the first battling pair of the Urban Fantasy round is... Kerry Nowicki (Companions Of The Night, Vivian Vande Velde) vs. Clarissa "Clary" Fray (Mortal Instruments series, Cassandra Clare)!

Category One. Personality.

Kerry's your definition of average. She's a bit snarky, but no more so than the average teenager. She scares easily, but who doesn't in real life? But she's also incredibly loyal to her family and incredibly brave. She's real.

Clary is your definition of "average." She thinks she's not pretty but is, she floats off into a world of her own in her head, and she's a bit oblivious. A cliché, but she does it well.

Winner: Kerry. At some point during the debate, Clary started whining and Kerry told her told her to get over herself.

Category Two. Fight!

Kerry has no technical training, but she has good instincts. She's had her hands around a gun and knows her way around a desperate brawl.

Clary is very slowly picking things up. She's naturally clumsy, which counts against her.

Winner: Kerry. Clary put up a good fight, but one-on-one isn't a good angle for her.

Category Three. "Kiss Me, You Fool!"

Kerry and Ethan. The. way. to do vampire romance. It's subtle, but obvious. Real, but not overdramatic. Amazing.

I'm a big Jace/Clary fan, and I admit to being a Jace fangirl, but their love story is so complicated and irksome, it's hard to squee over any more. Too many stupid twists and turns. Sure, they may be deeply in love, but it's an awful lot of work.

Winner: Kerry. Kerry and Ethan are so perfect, and all their complications actually make sense.

Category Four. Friends.

Kerry has no good friends. Or at least, none that are mentioned. She's pretty much just got Ethan.

Clary's only real friend is Simon, who, curiously, is the only person who stays human for a significant amount of time. But no matter what species he is, he's pretty cool. He's not, however, very powerful.
Winner: Clary. Simon looked around and waited for a while, but no one showed up for battle. Sorry, Kerry.

Category Five. Urban Fantasy Elements.

Kerry herself is just a human, but she has a powerful vampire friend who owes her a favor or two.

Clary is a dormant Shadowhunter, which means she's stronger than a human, but nowhere near as strong as a trained Shadowhunter or even a vampire, werewolf, etc. She does have abnormal powers though, even for a Shadowhunter.

Winner: Clary. She gotz special skillz.

End Score! Kerry: 3 Clary: 2 Yay, Kerry! You move on to the next round! Don't worry, Clary, Mortal Instruments will always have a special place on my bookshelf.

And our second battling pair is... Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson (Mercedes Thompson series, Patricia Briggs) vs. Claire Danvers (Morganville Vampires, Rachel Caine). First of all, this isn't really fair because Claire is sixteen and Mercy is who knows how old, but definitely an adult and far more experiened. But we'll see how it goes.

Category One. Personality.

Claire is a tough teenager. She goes to college two years early all by herself and endures cruel hazing, so she must be tough. And then she meets the vampires. Plus she's actually smart, and she knows how to use her knowledge. But she's not supergirl either, so she's well rounded. She doesn't need some sadistic childhood to make her interesting.

Mercy, of course, is also tough. She grew up with werewolves, after all. But she's got your basic adult urban fantasy heroine personality: tough, clever, and wears impractical clothing on her book covers. But she's a bit more interesting in the fact that she actually is tough and clever.

Winner: Claire. Mercy's personality may be more assertive, but Clary wins the argument because she makes more sense, and really is just more interesting.

Category Two. Fight!

Physical challenges are not Claire's strong point, but she does good when she needs to. She's not opposed to throwing a punch, but if she ever tried to beat someone up, she'd probably fail.

Mercy, on the other hand, grew up with werewolves. Of course she can defend herself.

Winner: Mercy. Claire didn't stand a chance.

Category Three. "Kiss Me, You Fool!"

Claire and Shane are cute. Not original or spectacular, but cute. Shane's obviously crazy about her, but she's not all he thinks about, and the same goes for Claire.

Mercy follows the tradition of adult urban fantasy heroines by having several love interests, all of different species. But she never actually gets close to any of them, which branches off from the norm, but leaves her with nothing.
Winner: Claire, mostly by default.

Category Four: Friends.

Claire's got the ghost friend, the goth friend, and the boyfriend. And you might even count the two most powerful vamps in town, but that'd probably be stretching it.

Like most adult urban fantasy heroines, Mercy doesn't have a best friend or even any really good friends, but you can count Stefan, a vampire, and Warren, possibly the only gay werewolf.

Winner: Draw. Mercy's friends might be more powerful, but Claire's are more reliable.

Category Five: Urban Fantasy Elements.

Claire actually has none. In fact, she'd be better suited to a science fiction novel, the little genius.

On the other hand, Mercy turns into a coyote.
Winner: Mercy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a TIE. Tie Breaker Category: Drama Queen.

Sure, Claire freaks out plenty of times, but she gets over it. She's a scientist after all. She just looks for the facts, finds them, deals with them, and moves on. No needless drama here.

Mercy's hardly a drama queen, but sometimes she gets immersed in her issues and you get bored. Sure, maybe she's got some interesting backstory, but no one really wants to hear about it in the middle of a murder mystery. Get some closure already.

Winner: Claire. The sixteen-year-old has less drama than the coyote woman? Weird.

End Score! Claire: 3 Mercy: 2 Draws: 1 Congratulations, Claire! Hurrah for the underdog! Don't worry Mercy, you're still one of the best adult urban fantasy heroines.

And our last pair is...Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampires, Charlaine Harris) vs. Kaylee Cavanaugh (Soul Screamers, Rachel Vincent)!

Category One: Personality.

Sookie's adorable. She's sweet, but since she can read minds, she's not naive. She can be mean when she has to, and half the time she's just struggling to appear normal.

Kaylee's personality is refreshingly normal, which makes her seem very real. She keeps a clear head in a crisis, but when she lets herself freak out when the situation calls for it.

Winner: Sookie. She's just funner to hang with. Even Kaylee agrees.

Category Two: Fight!

Sookie's no martial artist, but she can take care of herself. In her world, she kind of has to.

Kaylee mostly relies on luck and the element of surprise. But hey, whatever works.

Winner: Draw. Neither do too well against each other.

Category Three: "Kiss Me, You Fool!"

Like every other adult urban fantasy heroine, Sookie has a variety of love interests, but they're all so much better than everyone else's. They're not random shmexy males popping up all over the place and exhibiting strange attraction, they actually have purpose.

Kaylee, however, has one boyfriend, Nash, who made the hate list. Hm.

Winner: Sookie. Every one of her gentlemen friends could beat Nash one-on-one.

Category Four: Friends.

Sookie's got a few of them, Tara, Sam, and others that pop in and out as the series goes on. They all have their moments.

Kaylee's got the human best friend and a reaper friend, Todd, who is pretty darn awesome.

Winner: Sookie. Tara and Sam are very intimidating, and Todd knows when to back down.

Category Five: Urban Fantasy Elements.

Sookie is telepathic with fairy blood. Not something you hear every day. She's also surrounded by vampires, weres, fairies, and just about everything else.

Kaylee is a bean sidhe, or banshee. Also something you don't find every day. The only other creatures she meets are reapers and demons, though.

Winner: Draw. Sookie gets points for being paranormal herself and still having the classic vampires and werewolves, but Kaylee does awesome too for being something very rarely used and doing it well.

End Score! Sookie: 3 Kaylee: 0 Draws: 2 Congrats, Sookie! You proceed to the next round! Ouch, Kaylee, but you still did pretty good.

So our Urban Fantasy finalists are Kerry Nowicki, Claire Danvers, and Sookie Stackhouse! Tune in next Wednesday for the Classic & Historical Heroine Arena!

--Persy

Wednesday Scrolls - Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck, Urban Fantasy Edition

Welcome to the latest episode of Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck -- Urban Fantasy Edition! Check out the Literary Characters Who Do Suck and Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck - Fantasy Edition.

This week we're taking a look at urban fantasy. I combined supernatural, adult urban fantasy, and YA urban fantasy to make one list (and still only managed to find 11 chars), so let's see who made the top 10.

#10. Alexandra "Allie" from Everlost by Neal Shusterman. YA Supernatural. Allie's smart and resourceful, has a mind of her own, and her moral compass isn't always tuned correctly. I love flawed characters. And the book itself? Awesome.

#9. Mira from the Dark Days series by Jocelynne Drake. Adult Urban Fantasy. What I like about Mira is that she's a proper vampire. Meaning she's centuries old and evil, but not pointlessly so. She can beat you up, but she's not exactly a superhero. While she may not be totally awesome, she's still pretty good. And the book itself (Nightwalkers)? Not too shabby.

#8. Nina Harrison from The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks. YA Urban Fantasy. Part of this book's charm is that the vampires aren't super sexy undead bodies of supreme power. They're pretty weak, in fact. But that doesn't stop Nina from (reluctantly) going on a quest to save her friends. And the book itself? Awesome.

#7. Phoebe Kendall from Generation Dead by Daniel Waters. YA Supernatural. Phoebe is one of the few Goth Literary Chars who is actually goth. She's not perky underneath, she doesn't skip around only listening to Evanescence, and she doesn't love shopping so so much. Plus, she's pretty cool all around. And the book itself? OMG SO AWESOME.

#6. Kaylee Cavanaugh from the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. YA Supernatural/Urban Fantasy. Ah, good old chars who, while they may not know what's going on, they can figure it out pretty well. They have cool heads in dire situations, a proper sense of moral obligation, and still manage to make a few stupid mistakes here and there. Of course, they figure out how to fix them in the end. And the book itself (My Soul To Take)? Awesome.

#5. Mercedes Thompson from the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Adult Urban Fantasy. Mercy's not just around to be the focus of the attention of ten differently-oriented-but-all-incredibly-attractive-supernatural men, which seems to be what most adult urban fantasy is all about. No, Mercy's there to actually be cool, fix cars, and moodily turn into a coyote. This book really teaches you not to judge by a cover. And the book itself (Moon Called)? Surprisingly Awesome.

#4. Clarissa "Clary" Fray from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. YA Urban Fantasy. Tiny and clumsy, Clary is a pretty average urban fantasy heroine. Not strikingly beautiful and not too extraordinary in general (or so it seems! *very surprised at Clary's totally surprising talent*). So Clary may not be a completely original heroine, but Cassandra Clare actually pulls it off in this case, whereas every other tiny, clumsy, oh-so-normal char can get annoying. And the book itself (City Of Bones)? There's a reason I've read it 4 times and have my own copy.

#3. Kerry Nowicki from Companions Of The Night by Vivian Vande Velde. YA Urban Fantasy. If you know me at all, you know about my obsession with Vivian Vande Velde, and that obsession is not without reason. Fantasy, historical, supernatural, science fiction, urban fantasy, juvenile, young adult, Velde can do it all, and she does vampires spectacularly. Evil hilarious vampire? Check. Twisty plot? Check. Good heroine? Check. Kerry freaks out in the beginning, making her realistic, but gets over it and makes herself team up with Evil-Hilarious-Vampire in order to save her family. And the book itself? OMG SO AWESOME.

#2. Claire Danvers from the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine. YA Urban Fantasy. Easily the best young adult urban fantasy series, Morganville Vampires has what ever urban fantasy book should: evil vampires (see #3). Claire is introduced as a sixteen-year-old in advanced placement in college because she's so smart, and what's awesome is that she proves to actually be a genius, it's not just a clever ploy to get a sixteen-year-old heroine. Claire looks like a bit of wimp, but people constantly underestimating her is what allows her to continually get through ridiculous situations intact. And the book itself (Glass Houses)? Awesome.

#1. Sookie Stackhouse from the Southern Vampires series by Charlaine Harris. Adult Urban Fantasy. Oh yeah, you knew this was coming. Of course Sookie is around the top of the list. She's hilarious, adorable, and can read minds. Throw that in with a southern accent and killer vampires and you've got a fabulous heroine. And the book itself (Dead Until Dark)? Aaawesome.

There you are, the 10 heroines of urban fantasy who don't suck. And only one honorable mention: Cathy Vickers from the Cathy series by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman.

This weekend: a review by moi, Persy! Next Wednesday: Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck - Classical And Historical Edition!

--Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- Hate List

Sometimes, there are characters that you just hate. I'm not talking about the evil villains, or the annoying main character, or the weird girl character that exists for no reason (though a few of those are just terrible). I'm talking about those characters, be they good, bad, male, or female, that you just hate and want to die. Don't tell me you've never come across a few of those.

Now I'm not saying the writer did a bad job of creating these characters. Sometimes, you're supposed to hate them, so the author did a brilliant writing job. Go writer.

Other times, they do it accidentally.

So I've composed a list of twelve of the characters I just cannot stand just for your enlightenment, and the books that contain them. We'll work our way up to the worst of the worst.

#12. Alan Ryves from The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.

You probably know my opinion on this book already, since I did a review (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2011/05/persy-demons-lexicon-by-sarah-rees.html) of it back in May. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book, but most of the hate finally settled on this character. He's the brother of the MC, Nick, and seems the epitome of niceness. Makes you want to punch him. Especially at the end. Ugh.

#11. Sabine Campbell from My Soul To Steal by Rachel Vincent, fourth book in the Soul Screamers series.

This character you're probably supposed to hate, so I don't really blame her. But I still can't stand her. She's the ex-girlfriend of the MC's boyfriend who just pops up out of nowhere and starts being a total *cough*witch*cough*. I do not recommend reading this far into the series unless the fifth one ends up being a total gem and you have to connect the dots.

#10. Nash Hudson from My Soul To Steal by Rachel Vincent, fourth book in the Soul Screamers series.

This is said boyfriend, who starts being a total idiot at the end of the third book, and finally just gets there in the fourth. I seriously want to just punch him in the stomach.

#9. Homburg Molly from Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor.

She has almost no reason to exist, except for being the cause of all the trouble and the link between Hatter Madigan (awesome) and Weaver (not so awesome). Just plain annoying.

#8. St. John Rivers from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I can't stand this guy. He's so...gaaah. *shivers* Creepy? Irksome? Awkward?

#7. Muriel Hardwicke from A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson.

This character is the bad guy of the book, so I actually feel rather good about hating her guts (and I always award Eva Ibbotson points for this character). She's just evil. Check out the full review (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2011/01/persy-countess-below-stairs-by-eva.html) I did way back in January.

#6. Ridley Duchannes from Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

I also don't feel bad about hating this character either, since she's pretty much an evil witch (and I mean that literally). She slinks around with her evil powers and smirks and NO ONE EVER DOES ANYTHING! That's REALLY what I hate, is that nobody ever just caved her face in. You can read the full review of Beautiful Creatures here (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2011/03/persy-beautiful-creatures-by-kami.html)

#5. Ever Bloom from Evermore by Alyson Noel.

Oh my stars, this book sucks. Lots of it is because of the MC, Ever. Ugh. That's all there is to say.

#4. Lilith Llewelyn from Rampant by Diana Peterfreund.

Lilith actually isn't in the book much, but she's frickin' annoying even when she's not. She's the evil mother of the MC (though she's not actually evil which is partly why I hate her so much). I did a full review of this book a loong time ago (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/05/persy-rampant-by-diana-peterfreund.html) if you want to check it out.

#3. Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo.

Airhead. And everyone loves her so much. Sure, maybe she can dance and maybe she's drop dead gorgeous, but there ain't nothin' goin' on behind those purty eyes.

#2. Melissa from Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld.

Now I have to tread carefully here, because I don't entirely remember what this character's name was. I could've sworn she was Tara, but I might've been getting her confused with a different mind-reading character. But I did my best to pinpoint what her name actually is, and I'm pretty sure it's Melissa. And I didn't hate her guts until the second or third book (again, I can't remember), when she just became awful. I stopped reading almost immediately and have never gone back and started again, though I'm considering it. Don't know if I can face her again, though...

#1. Ophelia "Oh" James from Thirteen Days To Midnight by Patrick Carman.

And this is her. The queen of awful chars. The mother of all evil. The one person I might kill without regretting it later. She's one of the three MCs, and the girlfriend of the main MC, Jacob. She's reckless, bossy, sly, and a know-it-all tough girl. At the end, you find that there's a good reason she's that way, but that doesn't make her any less annoying. I hated her from the beginning, and I hated her to the very end.

So there you go, a list of the twelve chars I can. not. stand. Woe to the characters that add on to this list in the future.

What about you? What characters do you want to stab repeatedly with a fork and then throw over the edge of a cliff into shark-infested waters?

--Persy

Persy -- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Welcome to the Southern town of Gatlin, and when we say Southern, we mean Southern. You don't say 'Civil War' down here, you say 'War Between The States'. Every year, you do participate in the Civil War Reenactment. You don't keep secrets in Gatlin.

The exception, of course, is Macon Ravenwood and "Amma". Macon Ravenwood is the town's Boo Radley, as they often call him. No one's ever seen him, he never comes out of his manor. Amma is Ethan Wate's housekeeper/almost-grandmother. Ethan Wate is a teenage boy. Lena Duchannes is Macon Ravenwood's niece who appears out of nowhere and does not fit in. At all. Plus, she's got more than a few secrets.

But here's the deal, Ethan's had dreams about Lena long before they've ever met. And the closer he gets to the mysterious girl, the more secrets Gatlin unveils. Ethan learns about Amma's past, he meets the infamous Macon Ravenwood, and he gets pulled into a mystery surrounding his and Lena's ancestors centuries ago. Ethan determinedly picks at all of Lena's layers until he finds out the truth, and then he has to keep digging to save her from her destiny.

This book surprised me, I'll just say that right now. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I opened it up, but I was thinking along the lines of a random supernatural character, some bad writing, and long speeches of heartfelt love. Forget that. This book is more of a cross between historical mystery and supernatural romance/mystery.

Plus, Macon Ravenwood is so freakin' awesome I thought I might die. But anyway.

I often got tired of Lena. She's an easily depressed and hopeless girl who can't seem to make up her mind about her other personality traits. But Ethan's not a bad guy, even though he makes a few stupid mistakes throughout the story.

And now for the plot itself. It was actually a pretty okay plot, but the ending seemed...convenient. Sort of like the authors wrote themselves into a corner, didn't want to make a decision, and so threw in a very lucky forecast. I'm hoping they'll actually make a resolution about the 'destiny' thing in the second book. And they also make a big deal out of how Ethan can always predict the murderer in movies and is great at solving puzzles, but he only really uses this skill once, when it seems like it would've sprung into gear many more times. Plus, why did no one ever just SMACK RIDLEY?

Sorry.

Anyway. Besides the ending and the no-smacking-of-Ridley, the only things that really bothered me was that some of the elements strongly reminded me of one of my friend's books and there was a character named Wesley Jefferson -- the name of my cousin. Luckily, they actually called him Link the whole time, so it wasn't too disconcerting after his initial introduction.

To conclude, Beautiful Creatures is a pretty fascinating mystery with one of the awesomest characters ever with only a few unfortunate plotholes and annoyances. It really is rather unique, and I'd reccommend it to teenage mystery-lovers who also have a thing for the supernatural. I get the feeling that Kami Garcia's and Margaret Stohl's writing will get better with time, so I'm really looking forward to the second book, Beautiful Darkness.

--Persy

Persy -- Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

For a while now, teenagers in America haven't been staying dead. Everywhere else in the world, no zombies have appeared, and not even America are there middle aged, juvenile, or senior citizens rising from the grave. And in Oakville, a surprisingly large number of "living impaired" have gathered.

Phoebe Kendall, though a goth, isn't a zombie. But her previous best friend, Colette, is. Also, Phoebe's getting more and more interested in Tommy, one of the quicker zombies who has high goals.

But though Phoebe and her two friends, Adam and Margi (both alive), are accepted into the undead circle and break down the walls of prejudice and fear, not everyone has. Tommy ambitiously tries out for the football team, where the coach and all his teammates (except Adam) try relentlessly to make him quit. More and more zombies are getting attacked and beaten just for existing. And by making friends with them, Phoebe has made herself a target.

Generation Dead, first in the series, is pretty darn amazing. Let's just put that right out there. It's realistic, gripping, intense, thought-provoking (you know how much I hate saying that). Though Phoebe's not the most amazing main character, she's certainly not the worst. Adam makes up for it, though, and while lots of the characters aren't strictly likeable, they're realistic and well rounded.

But what really makes this book a winner for me is the plot. It's not long before you're questioning everything the zombies say, shaking the book in an attempt to make Tommy talk, and practically tearing your eyes out wishing you could read faster. And the ending... I'm not giving a thing away, but let's just say I had to sit still for a while to absorb it. It took my breath away (heheh, like zombies? They don't breathe? Okay, anyway...). Not everyone can pull off that kind of 'explanation', but Daniel Waters did it admirably. I still can't wait to read the second book.

Even if you don't strictly like zombies, I'd reccommend this book. It's about zombies, but it's not about zombies, if you know what I mean. Five stars, Mr. Waters.

--Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls

Urban Fantasy. The genre that is adored by some, and looked on with a bit of disdain by others (the more 'serious' bibliophiles). The style that delves into the dark shadows of the world, the world of vampires, werewolves, demons, and faeries... Or just creates situations where some stupid mortal falls for a supernatural creature.

Needless to say, there are many, many books in the urban fantasy genre. Most aren't all that great, some are okay, and a few are just amazing. Now, I admit to sometimes being a bit embarrassed to read an urban fantasy book, mostly just because of the stereotype. Even the name 'urban fantasy' doesn't sound very cool anymore because of its reputation. Maybe we should rename it. Not 'paranormal' or 'supernatural', because those are genres in themselves, and tend to imply more ghost/zombie kind of thing, while 'urban fantasy' is more focused on vampires/werewolves, etc. Though really, the terms are probably interchangeable.

But anyway, back to the point. The point is, there are good urban fantasy books that I'd reccommend to anyone, not just your local Twilighter. The following is a 'countdown' of sorts of thirteen urban fantasy (or urban fantasyish) novels that deserve more than a passing glance.

13. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Yes, yes, anyone who knows me knows my opinion on Twilight. I'm a 'Twilight Hater', so to speak, but let's be honest. Twilight, as in the very first book, is actually pretty good. The Twilight saga however, is utter crap in my personal opinion. But the first book is definitely worth reading (though if Bella had just been vampified at the end, we wouldn't've had to mess with all the nonsense of the other three books, and it would've been a great stand-alone novel).

12. Blood And Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.

This is an 'oldie', from 1997, and something of a classic to me. Vivian Gandillon is a teenage werewolf who falls for a human boy, at the same time trying to ignore the advances of the potential pack leader, Gabriel. It's really very good, and not just your every day urban fantasy inter-species romance. The movie was annoyingly different though.

11. Sucks To Be Me by Kimberly Pauley.

Mina Hamilton is the teenage daughter of two vampires, and they want her to become a vampire too. So while trying to get through normal highschool, she's also being forced to take vampire classes as well. This is a fun, more humorous look for the vampire scene, but at the same time serious and realistic.

10. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs.

Let's make one thing clear: adult urban fantasy and teenage urban fantasy are two different things. But still, there's bad adult urban fantasy and good adult urban fantasy. This is good adult urban fantasy. Mercedes Thompson (Mercy) can turn into a coyote, and was raised by a pack of wolves. This looks like your average adult urban fantasy novel, but it was actually a surprisingly good book. There was a lot of plot and mystery, with various twists and turns. Don't judge books by their covers.

9. The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks.

These vampires are not romantic, sexy, or powerful. They're dead. Which means they're rather fragile, and not at all young and spritely. Nina Harrison, the youngest at fifteen, hates the support group they're all in, but when one of their members is killed by a silver bullet, Nina dives head on into the mystery. Catherine Jinks is awesome no matter what she does.

8. Devilish by Maureen Johnson.

I don't know if this is strictly urban fantasy, probably more supernatural/chick lit. That's the problem with Maureen Johnson, most of her books are probably chick lit, but they're so much more interesting! Jane goes to a prep school with her best friend Ally, who ends up selling her soul for popularity. Jane must save her friend from the demon while protecting her own soul. This is definitely one of my favorite books, whether it's actually urban fantasy or not.

7. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith.

Quincie's parents die, and so she takes over the restaurant, giving it a makeover to make it vampire themed. She hires a new chef, who 'masquerades' as a real vampire, but things start to get confusing. And don't forget Quincie's hybrid-werewolf boyfriend. This book never ceases to make me hungry, but is beautifully written nonetheless.

6. Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

As with Devilish, I'm not sure if this is really urban fantasy. I'm not sure why it doesn't feel like it though, because I'm not sure what else you'd call it. Clary gets pulled into the world of Shadowhunters and Underworlders (demons, vampires, werewolves) when she begins seeing things she shouldn't be able to see. This is one of my all time favorite series', so go read it.

5. Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent.

Bean sidhes. Or banshees, as we say. Either way, it's not something you read about very often. But Rachel Vincent has a great world of them, with a main character, Kaylee, who isn't an idiot and supporting characters who are also very cool. And what's really amazing is how both sequels I've read turned out to be pretty good as well.

4. Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde.

Yeah, yeah, you all know I'm a huge fan of Vivian Vande Velde. And her vampires are as awesome as her dragons, witches, and smart dogs. What's absolutely brilliant about this book is how the vampire is never really good. He's almost always the bad guy (until the very end, and even then, you aren't really totally sure). Also, it doesn't completely resolve itself at the end, which will leave almost any reader happy. Love this book. So much.

3. Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.

This is another one of those vampires-are-actually-evil series'. Genius Claire Danvers moves to Morganville, Texas, to go to college. There, she ends up moving into a house with three other people, a goth, the rarely seen owner, and another dude. But the longer she stays in Morganville, the weirder things get, until the real situation is finally explained to her. Vampires rule Morganville.

2. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters.

This is yet another book I'm not sure you'd classify as urban fantasy, because it's all about zombies and doesn't have any werewolves or vampires at all. But this book is so good and close enough to the genre to end up #2 on this list. It's surprisingly touching and (if I dare say it), thought provoking. I have high hopes for the second book.

1. Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris.

This is something everyone should've heard of by now. Kind of like Twilight, but everyone knows this is awesome. Sookie Stackhouse is a psychic who lives in Louisiana, and being telepathic is no picnic. That is, until she meets Vampire Bill. Even at book #10, this series has great plot, great characters, and great Sookie. True, it gets a little complicated the more you read, but that's only because it's a very developed world. The TV show, True Blood is a pretty decent adaptation, but not neearly as good (plus it's also, like, rated X and the books aren't as bad).

And there it is. Granted, lots of these books I actually love equally, so giving them all numbers seems a bit unfair, but still, they're mostly ranged from least awesome to totally awesome. Maybe this will give you some hope for the urban fantasy novels, and keep you from entirely passing over this genre. Because let's be honest: there are gems in every genre.

--Persy

Persy -- A Chalice of Wind by Cate Tiernan

Thais Allard's father dies in a car accident, and suddenly her new guardian is a woman she's never met before, and Thais has to move to Louisiana. There, she meets Clio -- her long lost twin. As if that's not enough, Clio and her grandmother, Petra, are witches, and so is Thais.

But it gets more complicated. Turns out Petra is part of the Treize, a group of Witches with a dark past. Hundreds of years ago, the Treize performed powerful magic and became immortal. Petra is not Clio's and Thais's grandmother at all (more like great great great great great great, etc....).

As more and more questions get asked, there's also the whole drama with Luc/André. Ah, young love.
A Chalice of Wind is the first of four in Cate Tiernan's Balefire series. I read the first three books a long time ago, and then they kind of slipped from my mind until recently and I started rereading them so I could finish the series. Cate Tiernan is more well known for her Sweep series, a collection of fifty million (or, okay, thirteen) books about Wicca which look, honestly, boring as heck.

It's kind of hard to figure out what's wrong with Balefire, or rather, what's right. Neither Clio nor Thais are likeable at all, and there's just something weird with the writing in general. The plot and story is really interesting, especially the pasts and thoughts of all the other characters. Richard is my personal favorite. The thing is, you just don't care about Clio and Thais. They come close to death a few times or heartbreak or joy or whatever, and you just do not care. Or I didn't, anyway. Despite this, it's really easy to get pulled in and keep reading. But at the end, you wonder why you went through the whole thing and why you want to read the next one.

I mostly just want to finish it out of curiousity. I want to know how it ends, and I want to know more about what happened all those years ago with the Treize and everything. I do not, however, really want to listen to more of Clio's and Thais's thoughts, which is unfortunate since most of it is told from their perspective.

I'd recommend this series to light readers who are fans of urban fantasy, even though you really can't classify this as urban fantasy. More just young adult fantasy, I guess. It's not all that memorable or noteworthy, so I wouldn't go out of your way to read it.

--Persy

Persy -- Dead End Dating by Kimberly Raye

Lil Marchette is not your average vampire. She doesn't like black (she's a pink kind of girl), and she's one of the biggest believers in love.

All born vampires are looking for in a mate is how well they'll be able to produce children. Lil, however, believes that everyone deserves an eternity mate that they love. So she starts her own dating service (against her family's wishes) called Dead End Dating, open to clients of all kinds (born vampires, made vampires, humans, werekind...).

But then Ty Conner, a made vampire and a bounty hunter, turns up and tells her about a serial killer/kidnapper who seems to go through singles ads and dating services. Lil agrees to help Ty in keeping a lookout for the killer/kidnapper.

I originally got this book because it kind of resembles Maryjanice Davidson's Queen Betsy series, which, while not the most serious and interesting vampire series, is pretty darn hilarious. The Dead End Dating series has similarly drawn covers, and the titles are even alike. But Dead End Dating isn't nearly as good.

In the beginning, Lil was just plain annoying. She's a perky, ditzy vampire (which is pretty close to Betsy from Queen Betsy, but Betsy wasn't quite as bad) who reminded me of shallow teenage girls. But after a little while I got used to her and she wasn't so bad. She ends up being almost cute with her firm beliefs in L-O-V-E and determination to not be the stereotypical vampire woman.

But Ty Conner is definitely a cliché. Boots, long black coat, rugged good looks, lack of a real personality. Kimberly Raye doesn't seem to really dig deep into her characters, so they're all rather flat and one-layered. And I love characters with toons of depth, so this bugged me a little.

It certainly wasn't a bad book, and I do plan on reading at least the next book (mostly just out of curiosity), but if you want a funny adult vampire series, I'd definitely point you towards Queen Betsy instead. And if you want a serious series, I definitely wouldn't even mention Dead End Dating (though the pink cover probably should've hinted at that).

-Persy

Note: this is an adult book and contains adult content, such as language and a few 'graphic' love scenes.