Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office: A Memoir by Jen Lancaster

My sister made me read this book. No, really, she did. There was a deal involved and as part of it I found myself downloading this book to my Kindle while on the phone with my sister. (I would like it noted for posterity that my sister has yet to keep her part of the bargain.)

At the beginning of the book I was thinking “Who is this Jen Lancaster? I hate her.” I know she assured her readers she really was that bad but who believes that sort of assurance? In this case it’s true, she really was that bad. I kept wondering why my sister wanted me to read this book. Was I that bad? Did she really think I could relate to this terrible person? OH MY GOD WHY DOES MY SISTER HATE ME?! You see where this was going.

But then I started laughing. First a little chuckle, then a guffaw, and finally some of that truly undignified laughing complete with streaming tears and some snorting. Because Jen Lancaster is funny. She knows who she is–good parts and bad–and she tells a great story. And she never hesitates to laugh at herself.

If I play my cards right my sister–who had better keep her part of the bargain–will buy me these books for many holidays to come. If you don’t have a sister you might have to buy them yourself but, trust me, it’s worth it.

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Not your average zombies.

The shambling, brain-eating, undead are fun as a plot point but they’re no good as the main character of a book. You know, because of that whole rotting and nomming on humans thing, and the way their decayed brains can’t form enough thoughts for a decent point of view. And don’t even talk to me about zombie romance novels because I just can’t. (Zombies are not the new vampires. Vampires were not the new vampires.) But recently I read two books with zombie protagonists that manage to avoid the shamble and lack-of-thought factors to create characters I like and plots I enjoyed.

Pay Me in Flesh by K. Bennett

In Pay Me in Flesh, Mallory Caine is a struggling attorney dealing with an ex-boyfriend who wants her back while also trying to solve a murder. Her murder. Mallory deals with that pesky brain-eating detail by, well, eating brains, but only when she has to and she’s choosey about who she dines upon. Between that brain munching and a really good skin cream she keeps herself thinking and looking like a live human. In addition to trying to figure out not only just who murdered her in the first place she’s also trying to find out who brought her back from the dead and now wants her to serve them as their zombie-slave. When a friend of hers is arrested for a murder Mallory committed–oops, Mallory munched the wrong brain–Mallory has to defend her without exposing herself.

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine

In Working Stiff, ex-soldier Bryn Davis is starting her new job as a funeral director when she comes down with a very bad case of “wrong place at the wrong time.” Murdered, then revived by a corporate spy and his company’s miracle drug, Bryn gets to stay alive as long as she remains useful. Trouble is, Bryn doesn’t know anything about the shady dealings she walked into, which sends her and the spy scrambling to justify her life. The good news is she doesn’t have to–or want to–eat brains, but the bad news is the only thing keeping her alive is a daily injection that only the corporation can provide. But being a corporate-zombie isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when Bryn comes up against people who are willing to kill and reanimate anyone–including her family.

All She Wrote (Holmes & Moriarity Book 2) by Josh Lanyon

All She Wrote by Josh Lanyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I might have waited a whole hour after finishing Holmes & Moriarity Book 1 before I set my Kindle to shop and downloaded book 2. And that was probably only because I took a break from reading to eat dinner.

Lanyon’s Holmes & Moriarity books are filling a void I hadn’t realized was missing. I grew up reading mysteries–some very much like Christopher’s Miss Butterwith series–and have been looking for something that captures my imagination the way they did. What can I say, I like a nice, academic, gentle mystery. And I especially like it when the good guys can’t always save the day and when the bad guys aren’t all bad.

With Miss Butterwith safely ensconced at a new publishing house and Christopher freed from having to develop a new series, he’s a little more relaxed. Well, relaxed about his work, certainly not about his relationship with J.X. When his old mentor asks him to step in and run a writer’s workshop for her he jumps at the chance and easily cancels plans with J.X. We all know how much Christopher hates writer’s workshops and so does J.X. so he sees the writing on the wall when Kit bails on him yet again.

Christopher tells himself he did it for good reasons. His mentor, Anna–the American Agatha Christie–thinks someone is trying to kill her and after Christopher saved the day at his last writer’s retreat she thinks he’s the one to help her find out who done it. J.X. isn’t buying it and neither is Christopher, not really. When Christopher gets hurt in the line of duty it’s J.X. he wants and J.X. who comes.

The mystery, as with the first book, kept me guessing, and the resolution was highly satisfactory. The love story was especially interesting to me as J.X. and Kit tried to navigate their various power imbalances without hurting each other. The sex scenes were more explicit than in the first book, but still highly emotionally charged.

If you like characters with depth and shades of grey, you’ll enjoy this mystery.

Buy on Amazon.com: All She Wrote, Holmes & Moriarity, Book 2

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Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon

Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book up for my Kindle on a whim and it did not disappoint.

The main character, Christopher–only J.X. calls me Kit–Holmes, is a forty-something author of charming mysteries featuring elderly British spinster, Miss Butterwith. His books have gone out of fashion and his house is threatening to drop him, so his agent sends him to a writer’s retreat–horrors!–to make nice with his new editor, not-so-fondly known as “Satan.” Christopher has new clothes, more hair products than he knows how to use, and is being pushed into pitching a new series about a Regency P.I. and her Demon Lover. To put icing on his cake of misery he runs into J.X. Moriarity, a very successful author–read: more successful than Christopher is now–who just happens to be Christopher’s ex-lover. He’s so miserable the dead bodies almost come as a relief; until he becomes the main suspect, that is.

Christopher is sarcastic, cranky, and I liked him very much. He doesn’t pull his punches, maybe not even when he should, and except for that minor matter of being scared to death of love he’s pretty brave when he has to be. The mystery was solid and kept me guessing until the end. The love story was tender and touching and had me sighing. The sex scenes were realistic, not shying away from the physical but not ignoring the ever-important emotions involved. (For example: “There it was…there…that spate of wet heat and snapping energy, a fireball blazing through nerves and muscles and razing everything in its path, setting the fields of gold on fire. Summer once more.” Lovely, just lovely.)

Writers and readers will get a laugh out of Christopher’s behind the scenes commentary on the publishing world and current popular trends in books. Mystery fans will enjoy Lanyon’s plotting and gentle poking fun at mystery trends past and present. Readers who enjoy well-rounded characters will like Christopher and his supporting cast, most of whom rise above cardboard or token.

Buy from Amazon.com: Somebody Killed His Editor

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The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There were so many different styles in this book; I kept expecting them to crash and burn. I’ve seen it called gothic, paranormal, romance, mystery, and a ghost story. The wonderful thing is they jelled.

This book pleased me on so many levels. Six children were chosen to be “possessed” by spirits and become The Guard, a group responsible for policing the spirit activity of Victorian London. They’re also given a prophecy concerning a seventh member to come, their goddess come again and the woman their leader will love.

Then they grow up and protect the city and settle into their lives. Some pair off. Some live with unrequited love. Some are still waiting for the prophesied woman. Nineteen years later she arrives. Both of her.

Most of The Guard believes Lucy Linden is their seventh, but Professor Alexi Rychmann can’t deny the love he has for Miss Percy Parker, nineteen year old student at the academy where he teaches.

The relationship that grows between Alexi and Percy is fascinating. I enjoyed watching them deal with the difficulties of their situation: professor-student, an age difference but not one that is insurmountable or taboo in any way, ghostly forces trying to harm them both, and the identity of the mysterious seventh. And, because this is a romance set in Victorian times, there is a lot of wonderfully written sexual tension.

Things end well, but not before everyone is harmed in some way. This was a very satisfying read. If Leanna Renee Hieber writes more in this world I’ll be right there.

Buy from Amazon.com: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

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The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read a post of someone recommending this author and, looking for something to read, I got the sample chapters from amazon.com for my kindle. I fell into this world so hard that I didn’t think for even a second before clicking “purchase” so I didn’t have to stop reading.

So why did I fall into this book? First, the writing. N.K. Jemisin‘s writing is beautiful. She has a way of drawing you in, putting you right next to her heroine, Yeine Darr. She also created an amazingly fleshed-out world, with gods and rulers and races that are different but not lesser. I can’t stress how much time and effort must have gone into world-building, and how that made the book so much more enjoyable to read.

There was something kind of wonderful about Yeine Darr. She was a barbarian, by the standards of the ruling people, a warrior, and she was ill-prepared for the political machinations of the court she found herself in. She was trapped in a mess not of her making with no way out. The amazing thing about Yeine was that she did give up, for a minute, for a day, but then she went forward anyway, not to win, but to choose her own manner of losing. I admired her for that.

Buy from Amazon.com: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy)

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The Demon’s Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow

The Demon’s Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Chess is a demon hunting librarian. I don’t know what else I need to say to express the fun I had reading this book.

While at work in the library Chess finds a secret stash of demon hunting equipment and lore. She also realizes that the reason children are disappearing is because they’re being eaten by a demon. Once she knows that and realizes she has the means to help, she can’t ignore things. One of my favorite tropes is that of what “normal” people do when they encounter the supernatural, so this was right up my alley.

While hunting she meets Ryan, a half-demon member of an order of demon hunters. Even though she’s a hunter now, Chess is unaware of many parts of the supernatural world and doesn’t know anything about him, his order, or that his primary function is as the rather disposable sidekick of his partner. And to top all this off, Chess is some sort of magical superspecial being, the kind that hasn’t been around in a very long time.

The book has romance, betrayals, and tough decisions that need to be made. I liked it a great deal and would read a sequel.

Buy from Amazon.com: The Demon’s Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow

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Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman

Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love a book that isn’t what I thought it would be. I began reading this book expecting your standard urban-fantasy, something more along the lines of Thurman’s “Cal Leandros” series (which I enjoy very much). By the last few chapters I was grinning from ear to ear because it wasn’t all what I expected.

I enjoyed the character of Trixa. Every time I thought I had a bead on her she did something to change that. I couldn’t quite pin her down and that made her fun to read about.

I also really enjoyed Zeke and Griffin, the demon-fighting partners Trixa first meets when they’re teenagers running from foster care and the law. Their bond is similar to that of Cal and Niko (and that of so many other brothers who battle the supernatural) but, as with Trixa, there was something so natural and different about them and their relationship that I smiled all the way through the resolution of the book.

Great fun. I’m looking forward to more, and to the eventual and inevitable meeting of characters from this book and Thurman’s other series.

Buy from Amazon.com: Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman

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Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was fantastic. I’m hoping Glass continues in this world.

One thing I loved: main character of color. That’s right, a tough, kick-ass chick wielding a magical blade who fights for the Light, and she’s African-American.

Another thing I loved: Kira’s innate power makes it so she cannot touch anyone without killing them. She’s moved on and focused on what’s important in her life. She doesn’t mope, yet she hasn’t cut herself off from all human relationships. She simply does not touch.

Through her work as an appraiser of magical antiques Kira comes across a very dangerous dagger. Then the dagger’s owner, a 4,000 year old immortal Nubian warrior, and his sidekick, come looking for it. But they aren’t the only ones, because the Shadows would like to get their hands on it–and Kira–too.

Buy from Amazon.com: Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

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Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine

Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Allie is not at all who I expected her to be. She was rich, and she had everything she ever wanted. She was also spoiled and self-centered and unthinking. When we meet Allie she’s poor, living above a restaurant and working there. She lost her money when her mom ran off with it and her tennis instructor and I expected her to be resentful. She isn’t, though, she’s more sad.

Allie and her two best friends Amanda and Stan got drunk one night and they did a spell and created a Door. A Door to hell, or to hells, more accurately. A sentient Door that wants you to use it because it wants to corrupt you and have you open it so all the demons beyond it can come into your world and destroy everything they find. So, you know, that sucks. Amanda and Stan went home but Allie stayed and took on some responsibility for the Door. Ryan, the hunter who guards the door, had a little bit to do with that, but he’s teaching Allie to fight and Allie likes it.

When the Door moves for some reason a bigger and even scarier world opens up to Allie. There are more hunters than just Ryan and far more doors than she’d ever thought. She, Ryan, Stan, and some hunters travel through a Door and through many hells in order to find out where her Door went and try to close it.

There was quite a bit here I enjoyed. The way Allie tried to stay close with Stan and Amanda, the way she sees them for who they are and loves them anyway. The way she and Ryan are involved so emotionally but at times fight it for “safety.” The way people change in the hells to reflect who or what they truly are. The way Allie learns and changes as we read. The way Allie stands up for what she loves and how she comes to love her life.

Buy from Amazon.com: Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine

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