Bookish Britt

Synopsis: Set in the sleepy Connecticut town of Swoon, Malkin's novel is narrated by Dice (short for Candice). Dice is a New York native with family roots in Swoon. She quickly integrates herself via her cousin, Pen (short for Penelope). But after her cousin suffers a bump on the noggin after falling of an Ash tree, the slightly psychic Dice begins to sense another presence in her barbie doll cousin. Soon Pen is acting on impulses she never had and doing wanton and violent things as though they were the most normal thing in the world. Dice manages to manifest the presence in Pen and learns that he is a ghost who was unjustly hanged in the 1600's by a lynch mob after he was framed for his beloveds murder. Thus begins an interesting love triangle, which Dice falling for Sinclair (referred to as Sin from there on out...aptly), who is stuck in Pen. But when Dice manages to separate Sin from Pen, the residents of Swoon start spiralling out of control and Dice as at a loss of what to do...

Commentary: I wanted to like this book. I really did. But first I must give a warning, even though this book is listed as Young Adult, there is excessive casual drug use (even crystal and coke are referred to by the main character, and not in a negative sense), gratuitous sex references and acts (the oddest being an orgasmic spanking session taking place in a corn maze with 7-year-olds in presence), and entirely irresponsible behavior by all characters. Now I'm not Conservative. I've read and enjoyed books with explicit sex in them. However, this book was meant for teenagers. The drug use bothered me the most, though.

Ignoring all that, the author seemed to have tried to use dialogue that she thinks youngsters nowadays use, but it just ended sounding like my grandma saying "Fashizzle," extremely awkward and out of place. And often the author uses obscure words that scream of improper thesaurus use. For example: "He stroked my cochlea..." First of all...what teenager knows what that is? Second of all...it's a inner-ear tube, I don't wanna know the logistics of someone stroking the inside of your ear.

In all fairness, I did want to continue reading this book. It was engaging and at moments, decent. But at least half of the time I was just incredulous that parts of this book made it through an editor, and managed to get categorize and sold to young adults.

Jaye Wells

Red headed Step-child (Sabina Kane 1)

In Wells' world, vampires are red-heads. And she uses the mythology that vampires and mages are offspring of Lilith and Cain. (Both rejects from the garden of Eden) Vampires and Mages are like the genesis version of cats and dogs. They don't get along and are almost always tip-toeing the line of all-out warfare. But, most importantly of all, they do NOT interbreed. So Sabina, half-vampire, half-mage...is the black and red-headed sheep of the herd. The elders of the vampires, the Dominae (lead by her grandmother, Lavina) trained her to do their dirty work. Mostly, hunting down and killing anyone who questions or works against the best interest of the vampire race.

So granny sics her on Clovis, another half-breed vampire (only demon/vamp) and skeevy as all get out, who runs what appears to be a cult to unite all of the children of lillith. Ya know, kum-bay-ya and all that jazz. In the process and after a few encounters with a mysterious mage, she begins to doubt the ultimate wisdom of the ominae. So dear Sabina is caught between worlds and doesn't know what to believe or who to trust. At the conclusion of RHSC, Sabina is introduced to the world she was sheltered from growing up, and possibly a whole branch of the family tree she didn't know existed. Next on deck from Jaye Wells is the next book series, "Mage in Black," there is no release date as of yet.



Molly Harper

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs (Jane Jameson1)

So I'm especially fond of Jane Jameson because she is of a most honorable profession. One we can all admire: a librarian. Or at least she was until she's unceremoniously canned with only a Shennanigin's gift certificate for her pension. She gets tipsy, wonders home, and is mistaken for a deer and shot by a red-neck. Enter Mister Tall-dark-and-dead, shake and bake, and Jane is getting a visit from the Undead Welcoming Committee.

Of course in death as in life, bad luck keeps finding her and someone ends up pinning murders on her, drawing scrutiny from the vamp elders. (One of the elders kind of sounds like Dakota Fanning...fanged.) All the while, Mr. Tall and Dark turns into Mr. Hot and Cold and her relationship with her sire remains undefined. Not to mention her southern family don't take kindly to their darling daughter being undead.

And...this coming tuesday, Augest 25th, Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men comes out! Hopefully I can win myself signed copies of all three Jane Janeson books. (Nice Girls Don't Live Forever comes out late December).

Lucky 'ol me won signed copies of the complete Jane Jameson series! Now y'all go out and buy "Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men!" I'll have a review posted when I get my oh-so-special copy.