Forget everything you know about werewolves because Rachel Hawthorne portrays them so much better than Hollywood. In Moonlight, the debut novel in the Dark Guardians series, werewolves are certainly not the out of control, hairy monsters of movies and stories past. In fact, the term werewolf has a negative connotation pointed out in Moonlight, and werewolves are actually characterized as shape shifters sworn to protect their land and their families, or packs.  Not to mention the beauty and gracefulness of their movements and nobility of their characters. Hawthorne, who portrays shape shifters similarly to Stephenie Meyer’s beloved Jacob Black, has certainly made me a fan of these brave and heroic protectors.

…» more

After giving Uninvited a rather harsh review, I was truly hoping that I would be able to read Revealers by Amanda Marrone and sing its praises. But alas, it was not to be. I hate it when I don’t like books because typically, loving books is what I do best. However, I find that most of the time it’s better to be honest than to barf sunshine all the time. So here it goes.

The gist of the story is that Jules, along with her other gal pals in a strange coven, spends her nights dusting other mythical creatures–vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc.  Of course, they have been trained from birth to believe these other beings are innately evil and were created to torment all of mankind. However, the girls later learn that they are basically pawns in a larger witchy mafia in which their leaders (their mothers, of all people) are being paid to take out hits on other creatures. Oh yeah, and the best part is that their mothers all sold their daughters’ souls to demons as a part of a strange witch covenant that I still don’t quite understand now that I’ve read (and reread some parts) the book.  So of course, the girls have to figure out how to win their souls back to crush the vicious cycle of demonic enslavement. Sounds like a halfway decent plot line, right? Too bad it was poorly executed. …» more

Carrie Jones: a rather ordinary name for someone who writes such an extraordinary novel. In all honesty, I had never heard of Carrie Jones or read any of her other novels, but as I was perusing the shelves of a Barnes & Noble, her newest novel, Need, caught my eye. I read the back. I bought the book. I am glad I did. You see, Need, is the perfect dark urban fantasy/paranormal romance or whatever label you feel the need to give it. In fact, in combines two types of fantastical creatures rarely paired together in fiction or film: pixies, as depicted in books like Wicked Lovely and Tithe,  and werewolves, as captured in the Twilight Saga.  Usually one will find vampires pitted against werewolves or pixies pitted against other types of faeries. However, rare are the books that pit pixies against werewolves. At first, I didn’t know how I felt about it, so rare seemed the combination. However, I have decided that it works, and I love that it works. Why? The characters make it work.

…» more