On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Well, Tuesday night, after the misery that was a full day of work, I came home to find a package at my door. Right shape, right size, and yes! An advance copy of On the Edge by Ilona Andrews. I immediately went inside, dropped everything on the floor, and began to read.

I'm so glad I did.

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.

Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).

But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it . . .

This story was a great, fun ride and I'm already looking forward to the sequel. Rose is a complex character, struggling to keep herself and her two younger brothers (Georgie is a necromancer, Jack turns into a cat) fed and alive. Her entire life becomes more complicated though, with the appearance of Declan, a blueblood from the Weird. He's turning Rose's life upside down in his pursuit... although what that pursuit is isn't as clear cut as Rose thinks. Making things more complicated is the big bad that's muscling it's way through the Edge. It's going to take everything Rose has to keep her head and her family together.

Tightly plotted, with plenty of twists, this is a great novel. Ilona Andrews did a fantastic job leading us down a plot path, only to plant a switchback right after the blind turn, so I totally didn't see things coming. Declan's reasons for being in the Edge, the real reason why William (who you meet in the story) won't talk to Declan, even the truth about certain articles of clothing. They were all nicely done and I'm happy to say that even after I reread the book (twice) I couldn't see any obvious signs of what was to come.

There is romance (hot), blood, feuds, power trips, evil hounds, cool bits of magic and cursing, and absolutely adorable little boys (Rose's two younger brothers). I want to steal Jack and keep him for my very own, that's how much I liked him. (Well, him and William; they were my favorites. Poor guy, he needs some chocolate.)

On the Edge will be released on September 29; I know, so far away. Lucky for you, Ilona is posting snippets here.

Hot off the press

Hee! Not only do I have an awesome interview for you (see my previous post!), but I'm holding an advance copy of Ilona Andrews' On the Edge.

*wards off the grabby hands*

My day, it just keeps getting better.

PS: Thank you, Ilona, and thank you, publicist at Penguin.

Magic Strikes

Magic Strikes, by Illona Andrews, is one of those books that I feel like I've been waiting months, no years to read.  The author has a website where she posts snippets of her stories, including pieces from the upcoming books.  I get such a charge out of reading those snippets and I tear through them, only to leave me salivating for more.

Well, more finally arrived (thank you FedEX for sucking so very, very much!  You will face my wrath!) and I tore through Magic Strikes in a night.  (And again over the next couple of days.)  Really, it was everything I wanted and it left me wanting so much more.

Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that's saying a lot.

But when Kate's werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games - an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament - she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta's shapeshifting community...

Not only did we get more of Kate's life as a child (growing up with Voron, the training she underwent as a child, even her "bedtime" story), but we got more of Julie, Andrea, Saiman, and Derek in this novel, which helps to round the plot out so it's not all about Kate.  (Not that I would mind that, but have other characters to follow is fun.)  We also get more of the Kate/Curran drama, in which Curran shows/tells/demonstrates just how confident he is in their inevitable togetherness, while Kate shows/tells/demonstrates just how confident she is in it never happening. (Hee.)  

Although I very much liked the relationship aspects of this book, I think the biggest draw for me was learning more about Kate's past.  I love reading about her life growing up with Voron, as well as the additional tidbits about her biological father.  In the first two books, Kate was very much trying to keep a low profile, but in Magic Strikes, the low-profile life is over.  Kate's making her presence known in all sorts of ways, despite knowing what it will cost her.

I can't wait for Book Four.

Oh, Illona and Gordon recently did an interview with their publisher, which can be found here.

Dead Until Dark

I picked up and read Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris last night after watching the first episode of True Blood on HBO. It's about Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a small town in Louisiana. Working her shift at the local bar, one night a vampire named Bill comes in and everything changes for Sookie. 'Cursed' all her life with the ability to hear people's thoughts, Bill is a rarity to Sookie because she can't hear him. Her determination to spend more time with Bill, and his choice to spend more time with her, causes upheaval in their small town, as most folks aren't too keen on mixed relationships. There's also the recent rash of murders lately, with two local fang-bangers ending up dead...and all marks point to Bill.

I was never interested in the series before then--despite my love of vampire novels--and sadly I'm still not. I thought the episode was OK, had the makings to be great, and I really like Anna Paquin, so I'll probably watch at least the next few episodes, but I doubt I'll read any more of the books. It just didn't draw me in at all and none of the characters were very interesting to me. Has anyone read them? Do the books get better? I really wanted to like this, and I think Pam sounds like an interesting character, but the rest of them just left me bored.

Lazy days of summer

Being unemployed is almost like being a kid again during summer break.  Wake up late, snack throughout the day, spend some time outside, and read, read, read.  Eventually though, even I got bored with that, which is probably why my mother would send me to do something for awhile.  I guess that urge to do something has stuck, because starting next week summer will be over for me.  Yup, that's right, I found myself a (temporary) job at a bookstore as a runner.  

It should keep me occupied.

But, in the meantime, I still have oodles of time on my hand and two, that's right, two books to review.

Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs, is a follow up to her short story in On the Prowl, entitled The Alpha and The Omega. It introduced us to Charles, Mercy's second-oldest foster brother, and Anna, a submissive werewolf in a Chicago pack.  Recognizing Alan MacKenzie (the boy from the first Mercy book, Moon Called), Anna realizes what happened to him was her Alpha's fault, so she calls Bran, who in turn sends Charles to investigate.  I don't want to give too much of that story's plot away (although once I start reviewing Cry Wolf you'll probably get the gist of it), but Anna and Charles end up somewhat together.  Charles is all about claiming her as his mate, but Anna went through a lot at the hands of her former pack and she's not all that sure about Charles.

(Now, if anyone has read the Mercy series, this story is set at the end of the first book, when the whole Gerry & Carter Wallace things happens.  Samuel is back for the funeral, Bran is grieving for his friend, and over in Spokane, Adam is still dealing with Mercy. (Heh.) If you haven't read the series, well, some of the side plots might not make sense, but that's OK.)

Now, in Cry Wolf, we find Anna with Charles in Montana, where Anna is trying to come to grips with everything (she's not submissive, she's an Omega, Charles's wolf has claimed her as his mate, and Anna's wolf feels the same way) and it's a bit overwhelming.  Then there's Charles, who is still seriously injured and trying to heal himself while making Anna feel comfortable. The funeral the next day doesn't help matters; Anna's thrust into a new pack that's both grieving and angry at their recent losses and not ready to welcome anyone, much less a new female.  The attentions of Asil, a Spanish wolf somewhere around Bran's age, don't help matters between Charles and Anna, as Asil tries to flirt with Anna as well as get under Charles' skin.  

There's also the troubling rumors of a rouge werewolf up in the hills; the first sighting was written off, but the second missing body can't be ignored and Charles and Anna are sent out to find out what's going on.  They end up dealing with more than anyone thought; someone old, insane, and with powers that threaten not just the pack, but every wolf in North America.  

It was an excellent story and I'm really hoping that we get another book featuring Charles and Anna, although not at the expense of Mercy!

The second book I finished was The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett.  From the back:

A treasure worth killing for. Sam Spade, a sightly shopworn private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. A perfumed grafter named Joel Cairo, a fat man named Gutman, and Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime.  These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammet's coolly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted generations of readers.

What more can I say?  Sam Spade is exactly what I pictured him to be, a tough, sly, gritty man, stereotyped in every black and white film I've ever seen, who cares about nothing and no one but himself.  When a recent case, brought to them by a crying redhead, ends up being the reason his partner is killed, Spade takes it upon himself to figure out the why and the who.  Everyone involved has a secret they'd kill for and everyone, everyone is lying.  Spade doesn't seem to care though, letting them tell their lies and hide their secrets, while calmly picking the whole thing apart.  I won't tell you that it's a happy story, and there's no happy ending here, but there is a satisfying one and this won't be the last book by Hammett that I read.

A list

Things that are awesome:

Feeling pretty healthy on your birthday. (I woke up this morning with a sore throat, but still, I wasn't sick yesterday.)

Making a perfect batch of popcorn on the stove. (Mhh, popcorn.)

Realizing from a photo on an author's website that her book has been released five days earlier than it was supposed to be. (Or, maybe they always release books early, but don't "release" them for a week? I don't know.)

Yes, yesterday I saw a post on Ilona Andrew's webpage which included a picture that showed her latest book, Magic Burns, out a week ahead of schedule. I had to wait until after I'd left work for the day, but I pretty much ran to the nearest B&N where I frantically searched the floor for the book. Couldn't find it in the new releases, couldn't find it at the front, couldn't find it in the SF&F section! Disappointed, I made one last turn around the store...and there it was. Two stacks of that beautiful, beautiful book.

I'm going to save my review of it until next week, since if it wasn't supposed to be released, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. (So hard not to say anything, because Magic Burns was packed full of great things, interesting things, intriguing things, funny things, hot things...) The only thing I can say is that this will totally qualify for the mythological book for Carl's challenge.

One down, four to go!

Recent reads

A War of Gifts is a short story by Orson Scott Card, sent in Ender's world during the time that he's at Battle School. It features several of the characters from Ender's Game, namely Ender and Dink, but it introduces Zeke, a young boy who believes in Christ, peace, and whatever his father says. Taken against his will to Battle School, Zeke vows to participate in nothing, setting himself against everyone else there. Dink, meanwhile, is wagging his own little battle against TPTB (refusing a promotion, refusing to play the games). As something of a joke, Dink gives another Dutch boy a Sinterklass gift, which Zeke seizes as a violation of the no-religion rule at Battle School. His attempts to get Dink in trouble backfire at first; in fact, Dink manages to get most of the other boys to continue the gift giving, but eventually this plan backfires when Zeke manages to get the Muslim students involved. Ender isn't featured much in this novella, although he does play the peacemaker in the end.

Despite the fact that I found the story interesting, I don't really feel like this story belongs in Ender's world; more like Card was writing this to prove some sort of point. Religion never really featured in Ender's world (a few small mentions in the beginning of the book, but that was it). From what I remember, religion becomes important in the Peter and Bean sequels .

Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge was another recent read (last night, actually) and another disappointment. Det. Luna Wilder is a reluctant were in hiding as weres and witches aren't welcome. (It was only a few years back that they could be shot on sight.) Hiding her nature, Luna lives with her witch cousin Sunny and gets by. A homicide detective, Luna gets called in when a young woman turns up dead, her throat torn out and her index finger removed. Starting to search for the killer, Luna ends up with another case (missing person), as well as crossing paths with one of the local were packs. Despite reading through the whole novel, I couldn't seem to connect to Luna or any of the other characters. Also, things weren't explained so much as just stated; you had to take things for fact. I don't mind a bit of that in a "new" world, but the fact that everything had to be taken for fact bugged me. And the weres seemed to be mostly violent people (OK), but they were also usually prostitutes, pimps, or dealers; not really sympathetic characters. Despite how much I crave books in urban fantasy, I don't think I'll be reading any of the following books.