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What pleased me about this book:

I picked this book up on a whim and was delighted to find an honestly good, hot story. I finished it in the same day I unpacked it from the shipping box.

Victor has a job he doesn’t care much for, a talent that makes his life a misery, and the depressing realization that there isn’t much better for him out there. He spends most of his days in a drugged-out haze to help deal with the ghosts and doesn’t have any friends. He’s also gay in a traditionally homophobic career and not entirely comfortable with that either. He could easily come off a self-pitying whiner who spends pages dwelling on the suffering of his life, but instead he is portrayed as a sympathetic, likable guy who just isn’t happy with his life — and with good reason.

Victor’s love interest, Jacob Marks, while not a particularly complex character, presents a perfect counter-point to Vic’s awkwardness with his grinning self-confidence. He’s handsome, talented, capable, likes his life and his job — Vic’s baffled “and this hunk wants to be with ME?” attitude is understandable and easy to connect with, but at the same time, we can see what Jacob finds so appealing about him. It’s enjoyable to watch their relationship develop and Vic struggling to figure out his place in it. I was never left with that annoyed sense of “wish-fulfillment” that I get from stories with overly bland characters attracting overly amazing love interests.

The plot is fun and nicely paced. It’s no mind twister, but it will draw you right in and keep you entertained and interested in what will happen next right up until the very end. There are no holes or inconsistence, and it’s not constantly put on the shelf for the sake of sex.

Now about the Sex…

This is no traditional romance filled with scenes of ever-building passions leading to a final, firework cumulation between the two characters. Jacob and Victor’s relationship is dirty back-room hip-grinding from the get go, and the deeper feelings and connections start developing from there on. The sex scene themselves are numerous and fantastic. They run short, sweet, and hot, and are joyfully free of silly euphemisms or meandering internal monologues on “feelings”. They never overwhelm the plot or take place of good character development.

I loved all the side characters; they were as well handled as the main character and were never marginalized for the sake of the main romance.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for a good, fun read.

Well, half of one at least and for him and his ninja-trained older brother, half is plenty. Especially when the non-human side of Cal’s family tree has been hunting him down for four years, no matter how fast and far the two brothers run to escape them. You see, the real monsters have a big plan in the works and Cal is the key to it all — whether he likes it or not.

Trolls and elves…but not the way you were thinking.

Despite it’s supernatural/horror inspired title and the short appearances of both vampires and werewolves in it’s pages, “Nightlife” is much more of an Urban Fantasy, complete with a troll under Brooklyn bridge, bogles eating muggers in Central Park, a banshee enjoying a stay in an upscale New York hotel, and the infamous Robin Goodfellow himself selling used cars.

But where the names behind the creatures are familiar, the creatures themselves are not. “Nighlife” eschews the traditional concepts of elves and faeries that permeate the fantasy genre and goes for a more monstrous, demonic take that fits well with the dark and quirky atmosphere of the novel. Elves are not high-brow, pointy-eared aristocrats armed with swords and arrows, but red-eyed, sharp toothed bringers of mayhem and evil who dwell a in hellish sub-dimension of suffering. The troll is a terror of suffocating tentacles and the overwhelming reek of rot and death. The resulting effect is a compelling mix of familiarity and newness; you feel like you know this world, but you don’t.

The narrator of the story, Cal, is a sharp and sarcastic teenager with the duel afflictions not knowing when to shut-up and an attitude problem that may or may not be related to his half-demonic heritage. He blames himself for the life his brother, Niko, left behind him to protect him and is eternally grateful for that love and protections, but this doesn’t stop him from nettling big brother to death. He’s had a shitty life and doesn’t entirely like himself (courtesy of a mother that hated him and the fear of the monster he could become) and despite that, struggles fiercely to survive.

In short, Cal is a smart-talking bundle of ass-backwards coping mechanisms and black humor, but he makes for a fun read.

Niko’s controlled, almost prissy, manner and biting humor is a perfect counterpoint to Cal’s wit. Unfortunately, in the earlier chapters of the book, you get the impression that this is the only reason he’s there; the banter between Niko and Cal is so perfectly timed that it feels like a scripted variety show. Luckily though, this improves as the story goes on. Niko begins to stand out as more of a character and their relationship is believably portrayed as siblings who’ve only ever had each other to depend on. Admittedly, Niko doesn’t develop much further past “ass-kicking ninja who likes books, eats obsessively healthy, hates stupidity, and can snark his little brother into submission”, but given that this is ultimately Cal’s story and he is self-centered teenager, it’s minor issue.

Several other eye-catching characters also make appearances to help or hinder the duo. Robin Goodfellow (or Puck, or Pan; they’re all pretty much the same beast), is a vain, randy fellow with a mouth that won’t stop and a hidden heart of gold; George, a teenage girl who’ll read your future in exchange for a milkshake; Raffety the healer and his dog-that-really-isn’t.

In the latter half of the story, the narration makes an abrupt shift and becomes from the point of view of one of the villains.

The concept itself is exciting and different, but the execution was a little shallow. The villain is one-dimensional — and he’s supposed to be. He is literally an embodiment of evil, arrogance, self-indulgence, and destruction. As a conventional fairy-tale style bad guy, this is just fine. As the main narrator of a novel with lots of gray areas, it made immersion into his part of the story a little difficult. His actions of destruction and thoughts of murder and chaos were so casual to him that instead of going “oh no, he’s really nasty!”, I felt more like I was reading about a normal guy changing the oil on his car. I would have enjoyed to see a little more “conflict” between his personality and Cal’s, or even more of Cal’s morals mixing in with his. It was still entertaining, but not nearly as engaging as the rest of the book.

Taken for what it is, “Nightlife” is a delight. It addresses many familiar concepts — what it means to be human or a monster, devotion to family, the loneliness that comes with centuries of life, be happy with the moment you have — in a fast-paced, off-beat setting, with clever, snappy narration that is bound to inspire a snicker or two out of you.

In the distant future, a society of humans that escaped an oppressive Earth exist in an uneasy symbiosis with a race of insectoid aliens. The story centers around Gan, a young man raised up in love and friendship with these aliens, who for the first time, sees the horror of the purpose he was intended to full-fill and must decide what his choice will be.

Review: I read this story several times throughout my teenager years and again recently for this review. It has always struck a cord in me — the odd and frightening union between the two species; the conflict the Tlic race faces in learning to treat the humans that are their salvation as an equal, independent people; Gan’s feelings of terror and doubt and the temptation of easy escape through self-destruction, but despite it all, love for the being that has always loved him. In the end, he makes the only choice he can and still be himself.

The narrative starts with the strange, but easy to accept scene; a family joins together to indulge in a stimulant in the company of alien that looks after them. We are pulled in as the complexities of their world unfold slowly, with only vague hints at the reasoning behind them. Suddenly, we are confronted with the harsh reality of humanity’s place the Tlic society. Then, like Gan, we are left to process the dual truth; that the race that does such horrifying things to humans are also a sentient, feeling people who struggle with the needs of family and the survival of their species.

The writing style is a little disconnected from the feelings of the characters, probably because it’s such a large concept presented in the condensed form of a short story. At the same time, for me this always left open room for interpretation and speculation on the deeper meanings beyond the details presented. It has an easy, minimalist feel that explains only what needs to be told.

A classic and beautiful piece of science fiction work.

Review: I finished this the very next day after I bought it.

In short - may I have the next one please?

This is an engaging adventure on the dark and gritty side of human warfare and an unconventional look at everyone’s favorite Orcs.

The author’s prose is simplistic and straightforward, clearly conveying the scene and the characters with minimal clutter. Some reviewers found this made the story feel shallow; for me, it told enough that I was able to connect with the character’s feelings and sympathize, but I wasn’t completely dragged down into the muck and misery of the sheer wretchedness they found themselves trapped in. In this way it was a lot like a young adult novel, which I really like when it comes to enjoying a story instead of experiencing it. (And for anyone who wants an adventure in experiencing a story without enjoying it, read “Mirror Dance” by Lois McMaster Bujold. It was fantastic and I loved it, but I can’t say I liked it much.)

The main character Dar is obviously something of a messianic figure. Physically and sexual abused by her father after her mother’s death, she fights him off with her limited abilities and refuses to marry as she gets older, reaching the conclusion that she shouldn’t have to submit to a man to make a life for herself. This determination is put to the test when she is conscripted into the army as a branded slave to be a cook and server for the Orcs and the men. In this crude medieval setting, the only accepted way for army women to survive is to submit to soldiers in exchange for extra food, clothes, and trinkets. They are, of course, then abused upon and mistreated by these very same soldiers. Terrified of men and what they represent, Dar soon finds her fear of the alien Orcs to be the lesser of two evils and puts herself at risk to learn about their language and culture, eventually finding tenuous safety among their ranks.

Dar’s non-traditional view of her culture borders the unbelievable at the begining (where exactly did this downtrodden person find the hope and wisdom to realize her lot in life is wrong?), but it’s clear that her outlook is still very narrowed by her culture. She feels women shouldn’t have to submit to men to survive in much the same way that she feels it’s wrong for a king to loot from and kill his own citizens; but she doesn’t think much about how it should be. Concepts like owning her own land, holding a position of power, earning the same wages as men, being able to choose her own husband — these don’t even occur to her unless they’re introduced by other characters from different cultures. Most of her actions are guided by the fear of abuse, resulting in a fierceness and cleverness created by necessity.

It’s utterly delightful to find a version of Orcs that doesn’t fit into the Tolkien stereotype. All flaws aside. And yes, there are flaws; the Orcs of this series may be stupid savages, but they’re of the obviously Noble Savage variety. There’s a part of me that wanted to see dirty, brutish, uncouth Orcs with a subtle, complex, and fierce culture that Dar had to use all her wit and skills to fit in to — but the rest of me gets that they had to be noticeably less nasty than the men around her to for Dar to pick one over the other and I do love the results. With these Ocrs, we get a spiritual, Matriarchal society that doesn’t understand the concept of lying and views humans as brutal animals that are only worth obeying because their Queen told them too.

It’s an easy, good read with some engating character. Highly recommended for fans of young adult books and high fantasy.

Review: If allowed to pass through the hands of a talented editor and tightened up a bit, this novel could have been amazing.

Instead, it’s “okay” (which is also, ironically, the most frequently used word in the book.) Entertaining, some clever ideas, but a lack-luster execution.

The lack of consistent tone is one of the book’s greatest weaknesses. It reads like a contemporary piece for the most part; even though it’s set in a 1900s inspired world, that “feel” is rarely achieved in the narrative or dialog. This wasn’t horribly grating since the story isn’t intended to be a period-piece, but it really would have added something strong to it. Later, the tone hints at a spiritual sense of dead religions and weary gods, then swings into a futuristic/high fantasy feel for the concluding show-down. The background setting starts out rich, but frequently becomes a vaguely defined stage for the great play of Kieran and Ashleigh’s love. The tale as a whole, with all it’s fascinating concepts and occasionally riveting plot, is ultimately about the love story at it’s center.

Among the characters, Ashleigh is probably the most developed and grows the most believably. Here’s where the book’s strengths come in: Ash starts out the stereotyped “bottom” character; needy and emotional and physically weak, turning to big tough Kieran to help out in the hopeless prison they’re trapped in. He’s not overly-wimpy, having been once apart of the rebellion, but he is sensitive and prone to tears when emotionally overwrought. Kieran is, unsurprisingly, drawn to protecting him. However, instead of continuing to cling uselessly to Kieran’s side, Ashleigh grows in emotional and physical strength and is unafraid to stand up to Kieran for what he believes in. When Kieran becomes badly injured, it’s Ash who shoulders the burden and keeps them moving and fighting to survive.

Kieran’s reverse development from a tough-as-nails assassin and drug-runner with a broken soul, to a man learning how to let others into his heart and find hope in the world again is not nearly as smooth or well-done. Kieran is a little overly sensitive and too quick to open up to Ashleigh from the begining. This is described as a “lack of control” because he’s agitated somehow, yet this lack only shows up at the perfect time to further their relationship and never at any other moment. There’s never a good connection between Kieran’s “I’d just as soon shoot you as look at you” side and his “I’m an abused, wounded child” side; it usually feels like two separate people.

The Romance: I enjoyed it. It was a little girly emotional at times, but not to the point that I felt like I was reading about two high school age lesbians, which can be a downfall in some Gay Romance novels. They also had a good amount of “men don’t talk about this feelings crap” too. As mentioned above, the power between them shifts over the course of the story; from Kieran being the emotional dominate, to Ashleigh, to finally an equal balance based on what they bring to the relationship. The overblown “WE ARE TRUE LOVE FOREVER” element was amusingly minimized by the tolerant “you two just got together, huh?” eye-rolling of older characters.

The plot itself, with ancient people of great power who grew into Gods that that ultimately fought against and consumed each other, until only four remained (one holding sway over the world, another trapped under his power, and the last two hidden within the cycle of human-rebirth) had so much potential in it that I found myself wishing it were a larger, deeper part of the story as a whole. I especially loved the idea of the evil god that was, at his center, a spoiled lonely child who just wanted to rest.

Overall it was an entertaining read, with a fast and fun pace. As an action/adventure, fantasy themed romance, it doesn’t miss it’s mark. My only disappointment is that it had the chance to be even greater.

I was surprised and mildly disappointed to discover that it was a “Vampire Hunter” type novel, and then in retrospect wondered why I was. Nearly all supernatural stories with female main characters are “Vampire Hunters”.

For those not into this sub-genre; a “Vampire Hunter” story is classified by a main female character in a world where supernatural exists, she is involved in it, and hunts vampires — sometimes repeatedly as a job/calling, other times as a rare incident born of necessity. She is always loved by and loves at least one vampire. She has some skill, disability, or power that makes her stand out from humans and often other supernaturals, putting her in the position of being both desirable to those that can use her and utterly alone. She’s a strong, kick-ass character despite her emotional hang-ups, and when the shit is on the line, she is the only one who can tip the balance in the favor of the good guys.

She may also be loved by no less than two other men. She is drawn to them in turn, yet can’t decide which one she wants and is often half-assed about sending them away when she does make up her mind. She will continue to go to them for help even after they’ve “broken up”, allowing for further drama/romantic tension between them.

In case you couldn’t tell, the majority of “Vampire Hunter” novels are also Romances.

“Blood Bound” falls into all of the above. Main character Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson is a coyote shapeshifter raised by a pack of werewolves. Because she’s a special type of shapeshifter that isn’t tied into the moon’s cycles and doesn’t run the risk of being taken over by her inner beast, she doesn’t completely fit in with them. She can also resist the powers of vampires and see ghosts, so the bloodsuckers aren’t that fond of her either.

On the normal end of life, she works as a mechanic and lives in an old trailer with Love Interest #1, aka Sam. Sam is the son of the Marrok (the top werewolf above all other packs) and has been lusting after Mercy since they were teenagers. Mostly because he thinks her womb would make a good place for his babies. They dated for a while and had a pretty bad break-up; possibly the first book better explains why they’re living together a decade later, because it seemed doubtful to me. Sam is a doctor, but apparently doesn’t pay much in rent, because Mercy frequently worries about being able to cover the bills or to repair the vampire-caused damage to the outside of her trailer. (Or she’s too stubborn to allow him to contribute, that’s a possibility too.)

The trailer is neighbors with Love Interest #2, aka Adam the leader of the local werewolf pack. Mercy rescued him and his daughter in the previous book, at which point he declared her his mate in front of the entire pack and she hasn’t been entirely sure what to do about it since then. Both Adam and Sam play tough dominate types around her, alternately “grrr-ing” at each other and trying to protect and coddle her. In the grand scheme of things, I like Adam more than Sam, because he’s more into looking after Mercy and less into growling at Sam for being near her — and I like Mercy less for being wishy-washy with her feelings about them.

Love interest #3 is Stefan the “nice” vampire and is shockingly the least annoying of the love interests. He’s played off as a very secondary interest for the majority of the book and you’re left guessing whether he feels platonic or romantic affection for her up until the end. He’s also the primary push of the plot.

Oh right, the plot.

It’s actually pretty entertaining. You got a demon-ridden sorcerer turned into a vampire and causing mass destruction because of it. Stefan is asked to investigate and drags Mercy along in coyote-form to both contribute to his bad-guy image and in hopes that her vampire-magic-resisting abilities will be of use. It goes worse and better than planned and death pretty much abounds.

The author wins points for non-annoying take on vampires. She managed to make Stefan the Good Vampire without either diluting how evil vampires are in her world, or making him a whiny prat. It’s also clear that ‘good’ is a subjective phrase, for while Stefan is better than the others in how he keeps his humans, he’s still also collecting the needy and downtrodden who won’t be missed and feeding off of them.

If you’re a fan of “Vampire Hunter” books, this one will satisfy you. If that isn’t your thing, you probably won’t care for it.

Opinion: I am a sucker for good werewolf stories, especially since so many of them are the same old dreg that everyone writes. The background for Blood Trail isn’t overly unique or amazing, but the werewolves (in my little world) make up for everything. They’re more animal than human; they solve the issue of clothing getting in the way of shifting by simply not wearing any when in their own home; the children hunt and eat rats and frogs; and they mark their territory in a very canine way. I haven’t seen the equivalent of it in supernatural books yet. Additionally, the main female character is interesting, if not the most stellar charactrization ever, and the vampire is even better. Worth reading if supernatural/horror is your kink