Book Reviews!

 Hola peeples.

Here are a few quick reviews from my latest binge.

HAPPY HOUR OF THE DAMNED by Mark Henry

Brief blurb from Mark's website:
Getting used to the afterlife can be a daunting process. Advertising executive/diva extraordinaire Amanda Feral has barely adjusted to being turned into a zombie, and now she’s trying to make her way through Seattle’s undead scene—filled with bloodsuckers, reapers, horned (and horny) devils, celebrities, PR-obsessed shape shifters, and an extremely hot bartender named Ricardo. When one of Amanda’s undead friends disappears, she knows that the afterlife is about to get really ugly. Something very sinister is at hand, and this time, Amanda may meet a fate a lot worse than death.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Mark at RT this year and let me tell you -- he is hi-larious.   Happy Hour of the Damned is a perfect reflection of his sharp witted humor.  What a fun read!  Amanda is a great character: edgy and fun with that holier-than-thou diva-tude that a part of me has always secretly envied.  Mark's done a fantastic job with worldbuilding -- something that I'm a sucker for and a harsh critic of.  The world of Happy Hour is a fun (Yes, I know that's the third stupid time I've used the word but this book is freaking fun! What can I say?!?) and unique take on the supernatural world.  

In a word: snarkilicious.

ROGUE by Rachel Vincent  

I've talked ad nauseum here about my never-ending adoration of Rachel Vincent.  Rachel's a great writer, she maintains an entertaining and informative blog chock full o' writerly advice and she's just an all around lovely person.  It occurs to me that these facts have nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not I recommend Rogue, but it sure is nice to like the author as much as you like the book. :)

Brief blurb from Rachel's website:
Okay, so cats don't always land on their feet

I know that better than most. Since rejoining the Pride, I've made big decisions and even bigger mistakes: the kind paid for with innocent lives. As the first and only female enforcer, I have plenty to prove to my father, the Pride, and myself. And with murdered toms turning up in our territory, I'm working harder than ever , though I always find the energy for a little after-hours recreation with Marc, my partner both on and off duty.

But not all my mistakes are behind me. We're beginning to suspect that the dead are connected to a rash of missing human women, and that they can all be laid at my feet--two or four, take your pick. And one horrible indiscretion may yet cost me more than I can bear...

Rogue is the sequel to STRAY, Rachel's debut novel.  I loved both books and heartily recommend them to any UF lovers.  They have a good balance of action, character development and romance and Rogue adds a decent dose of politics as well.  In Rogue, we see Faythe, the sassy main character, grow.  She faces some tough decisions and some even tougher realizations about herself, her life and her choices -- both the ones behind her and the ones ahead of her.  It's great to see character growth and not just more of the same -- a trap some authors fall into with follow up novels.  I also found the writing to be tighter in Rogue than it was in Stray. There were several places where the writer in me was going "Oooh, look how she did all that with just those two carefully placed sentences!" Overall: two thumbs up!

FROM DEAD TO WORSE by Charlaine Harris

I heart Sookie Stackhouse.  (Or, Sookie Stakehead, as my husband affectionately calls her.)  I think she's one of the most original characters in the market today and -- best of all -- I think she's remained the most true to herself throughout the (now) eight novels.  Charlaine Harris: You are a master.

Brief blurb from Amazon:
After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone—human and otherwise—is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing.

It’s clear that things are changing—whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes.

In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death, and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood finished flowing, her world will be forever altered.

This book is great!!! It's not one you can easily pick up out of sequence, so you should read the other 7 Sookie novels prior -- you'll thank me for it. :)  I could barely put down From Dead to Worse.  Literally.  I was reading it while walking from my car to the bus, from the bus to the door of my office building, in the elevator, at my desk while my laptop was booting up, etc.  It's full of action and all sorts of hilarious things that would only happen in the Sookie-verse.  Oh, and lots of Sookie-isms.  (They're not called Southern Vampire Mysteries for nothing, people!)  What I liked best about this installment: character development.  Sookie learns a few things about herself and the person she's become -- how her involvement with the Weres and the Vampires has changed her -- and I ate up every word.  Charlaine is great for realism when it comes to emotional developments in her books.  They're not written in a poetic, overly-dramatic fashion:  the words appear on the page in just the same, straightforward, plain sort of way these types of thoughts and revelations actually happen in our own minds.  Bottom line:  Immediate must have.