*This title will be released on June 5, 2012*

Title: Hex Appeal Author: Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Carole Nelson Douglas, P. N. Elrod, Simon R. Green, Lori Handeland, Erica Hayes, Carrier Vaughn Series: See below Cover Art: N/A Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: LibraryThing ER Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (June 5, 2012) ISBN-10: 0312590725 ISBN-13: 978-0312590727   Sexual Content: See each title below Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

---

*This title will be released on July 20, 2010*

 

Book Description

It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest….

They’re the ultimate defenders of humanity—modern day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights that are brimming with magic mystery and mayhem.

John Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry Dresden to go head-to-head with a cantrev lord in Jim Butcher’s Even Hand.  Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saimen, a shifter she trusts less than the enemy in Ilona Andrews’ A Questionable Client.  Cormac must stop a killer werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn’s God’s Creatures.  And in Vicki Pettersson’s Shifting Star, Skamar gets more than she bargained for when she goes after a creature kidnapping young girls—and enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor.

When everything’s on the line, will these knights complete their missions and live to fight again another day?  Find out in Dark and Stormy Knights!

Includes stories from:

Ilona Andrews

Jim Butcher

Shannon K. Butcher

Rachel Caine

P.N. Elrod

Deidre Knight

Vicki Pettersson

Lilith Saintcrow

Carrie Vaughn

 Review

A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels prequel)

Review:
I would have bought the whole anthology for this story alone. We get an early glimpse at Kate’s life and find out how she met the shapeshifter Saiman.  Sadly, no Curran, but we do get a fun bit of Russian mythology.  If you haven’t tried this series yet, you get a great sense of the humor, characters, and world that Kate lives in all packed into 46 excellent pages….5/5 bats

Click HERE to read an excerpt from Ilona Andrews story

---

Even Hand by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #11.5)

Review:
I’ve only ready a couple Harry Dresden books so far, and wasn’t familiar with the character of Gentleman Johnnie Marcone who is the protagonist this time (Harry only gets a few mentions, mostly from Marcone wanting to kill him). This story had a Thumbelina quality for me in that Marcone protects a beautiful young woman who escaped after being abducted by a nasty froglike creature.  I loved the character of Marcone with his harsh, stoic exterior that belies a more compassionate man than even he’s willing to acknowledge…4/5 bats

---

The Beacon by Shannon K. Butcher

Review:
Possibly the weakest story in the bunch for me, but still good.  A self-loathing man has killed dozens of men who, unbeknownst to them, are beacons for unstoppable killing monsters, before they can summon the creature…until he discovers the next beacon is a little girl with a beautiful single mother...3/5 bats 

---

Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine

Review:
My second favorite after the Kate Daniels story.  The last dragonslayer must train her replacement before she can retire.  This one had a cool Buffy vibe with the idea of a watcher training a young woman who had no idea she had a destiny.  The ending was a fantastic surprise…5/5 bats

---

Dark Lady by P.N. Elrod (The Vampire Files #?)

Review:
Vampire PI Jack Fleming helps a woman trying to clear her fiancés name and keep the mob from killing him in this 1930’s story.  A fun supernatural mystery with temperamental ghost…3/5 bats

Click HERE to read an excerpt from P.N. Elrod’s story

---

Beknighted by Deidre Knight

Review:
Another one of the weaker stories.  A puzzle maker/painter must work alongside a dangerous man to free another who has been haunting her dreams.  PNR fans will like the added romance of this story, but I found it slightly confusing and apart from a few references, it could have been a regency story…3/5

---

Shifting Star by Vicki Pettersson (Sign of the Zodiac #4.5)

Review:
I’m not a huge fan of this series, and it took me awhile to remember what was going on since the author didn’t ever really explain her complex world this time.  I don’t recommend newbies to this world start here as there are lots of spoilers from the previous books. It focuses on the character Skamar as she continues her quest to destroy the Tulpa, this time with the help of her hot neighbor cop…3/5

---

Rookwood and Mrs. King by Lilith Saintcrow

Review:
I’m a fan of Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine series, so I was hopeful with this one, and I loved it.  A dhampir vampire hunter helps a wife/widow stake her newly turned lawyer husband and imparts his vampire knowledge along the way.  A little sexy, a little mysterious, and a lot of fun.  I hope Lilith considers writing more about Rookwood in the future…4/5 bats

---

God's Creatures by Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville #2.5)

Review:
This is the shortest story in the bunch (only 31 pages) and it feels it.  Kitty is a no show.  Instead this story focuses on werewolf hunter Cormac as he accepts a job to eliminate a rogue werewolf before it kills any humans at the local Catholic school.  Not a lot going on in the story, but Cormac fans might enjoy it…3/5 bats

---

Sexual Content: Kissing.  References to sex.

My Rating (out of 5):
Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.

Product Details

Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc.

Published: 20 July 2010

Format: Paperback 384 pages

See: Full bibliographic data

Categories: Fantasy

ISBN 13: 9780312598341 ISBN 10: 0312598343

*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of LibrayThing’s Early Reviews

---

Disagree with my review?  Contact me with your review for this or any other book I’ve reviewed and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review.

Book Description: Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! In Charlaine Harris' 'Bacon,' a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In 'Seeing Eye' by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother - and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's 'Last Call,' wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers - the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer. For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

Review:
Jim Butcher’s story continues his popular Dresden Files Series.  In Last Call, which occurs chronologically between Small Favor, book 10 and Turn Coat, book 11, wizard Harry Dresden is on the hunt for the mastermind behind some bewitched beer.  I’ve only read the first book in Butcher’s Dresden Files, and despite the gap in my Harry knowledge, this was an easy story to slip into and I never felt disoriented like I had missed a lot in the interim. Harry and Murphy play off each other in just the way I remembered.  Harry was, if anything, more enjoyable for me.  He is a perfect anti-hero with his sarcasm and humorous non-alpha acts of self-preservation. I’m seriously going to have to pick up Full Moon after thoroughly enjoying this funny paranormal romp.

Sexual Content: None

*Last Call is part of Strange Brew: An anthology of stories edited by P N Elrod.  I will be reviewing the other stories in this anthology in separate posts.

---

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312383363
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383367

                            
          TV              vs               Books     
     

     

            True Blood TV series     vs   The Southern Vampire Series         

                                          by Charlaine Harris  

                    

                  The Vampire Diaries TV series  vs    The Vampire Diaries                                    

                                            by L. J. Smith   

  
                    

            The Dresden Files TV series  vs   The Dresden Files Series                       
                                             by Jim Butcher    

                 
            Blood Ties TV series        vs        The Blood Series                     
                                               by Tanya Huff   

My new poll question made me wonder, should we ever judge a book by its TV series?  With the debut last week of The Vampire Diaries based on the series by L.J. Smith, and the continued success of True Blood based on the series by Charlaine Harris, this is the perfect time to ask this question.

I have read at least the first book in each of these series and, with the exception of True Blood (wayyyyyyyy too much profanity for me, I couldn't finish the show), seen the first episode of each show.  I have to say definitely not.    The TV series are in each case only loosely based on the books they claim.  The Vampire Diaries is the most recent example.  The book was a catty and trite look into the life of a teenage girl who sets out to compete with another popular girl for the attention of the new hottie in school.  The second half of the book is a flashback to how the aforementioned hottie and his brother got vamped way back when.  Since I clearly thought so little of the book, why did I bother to watch the show?  Because I thought the previews looked much more Twilight than the books.  And so far, the previews proved accurate.  The TV show, while still for a teen audience, is much more thoughtful and will, I suspect appeal to adults as well.

Please chime in with your opinion and take the poll and leave a comment with your thoughts (please let me know if I overlooked a book-to-TV adaptation).