"Magic Strikes" audio, "Bleeding Violet", "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case"

Nicolas Sayre and the Creature in the Case by Garth Nix (REREAD)

Like I mentioned in my Lirael review, Nicholas seemed kind of bad-ass in his first appearance before he got all possessed and needed to be saved. Since he seems to be set up as a possible romantic interest for Lirael, obviously he should be tough as nails or at least not afraid of zombies. In this novella he not only gets to be the resident freakish incident expert, he gets his own James Bondian chase sequence involving motorcycles, cars and trains. Dark as most of this series, with lots of deaths, this story was also a lot of fun and I wish there would be more stories written in this world.


Magic Strikes (audiobook) by Ilona Andrews, read by Renee Raudman (NEW LISTEN, REREAD)

This series is one of my favorite reads I've come across in the past few years. I love to reread them, but that doesn't mean they'll make a good audiobook. A lot depends on the reader, and in this case it's a perfect fit. RR is just right for the protagonist Kate Daniels, but she also does a mean Southern accent (and not True Blood Southern, Beeeeeeel!). The snarkiness of the narration shines through in audio form, with all its asides and in-jokes ("Dingoes ate my baby!" makes an appearance). There are books I love that I won't touch in audio, but this series is getting added to my Audible list ASAP.


Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves (NEW READ)

I just finished this book 15 minutes ago, and I'm still a little shellshocked. It turned into something totally different than I was expecting, much darker than most paranormal YA coming out today. By the end of the day so much crazy violence and magic has happened that the protagonist's manic depression has become a minor problem, even one that is beneficial to her. Not even sure how to write a summary for this unless I think about it more, but people looking for some YA fantasy with a dark, dark twist might want to give this book a shot.

Monday Holiday Reading

"Magic Mourns" from "Must Love Hellhounds" by Ilona Andrews (NEW READ) (urban paranormal)
A cute story about how Andrea and Raphael finally got together- and fought Cerebus a few times. I liked that it was from Andrea's point of view- it's fun to see how well-rounded and distinctive the other characters in the cast are.

"Veil of Night" by Linda Howard (NEW READ) (romantic suspense)
Light suspense / romance. The romance was not happening for most of the book, and you could tell who the villain was early on, but I still enjoyed this as a quick read. I liked that the one night stand stayed that way and didn't immediately turn into true love. Bridezilla getting hers was the most satisfying part of the book. >:)

Sick Day Reading

I spent Monday home with a stomach bug, so I read quite a bit:

The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn by Fuyumi Ono (REREAD) (YA, fantasy, epic)
This is some of my favorite Twelve Kingdoms material. There are more characters than in the first arcs which can make it confusing, but I love how all the viewpoint characters in this series start out as horrible people and personal journey themselves into awesomeness. The introductory sections can drag a bit but the coup against corrupt officials is super-exciting (especially once you know who is taking part in it). I'm not usually a shipper, but I'm all for Shoukei x Kantai like woah. She's a former princess! He's a general who's sometimes a bear! Together they're all about piggyback rides and doing the dishes together, awww.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (REREAD) (urban paranormal)
This series is a cure for all the overpowered, hyper-sexy paranormal romance heroines out there. Yes, Kate is powerful, but she gets hurt an awful lot, sometimes doing stupid things. The worldbuilding and magic are well thought out, and there are plenty of interesting secondary characters.


Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (REREAD) (urban paranormal)
Read two in a row, just because I had the time and could. :P