Book 34 - Elpis by Aaron McGowan

So I stumbled upon this book because the author, Aaron McGowan, liked a photo of a book I had posted on Instagram (look him up @aaronelpis), which led me to visit his page where I saw he had posted a link for a limited time offer to obtain his ebook for free.  Boy, am I glad I did!  Wow...what a fantastic read!  I was pretty sure it would be good based on the Goodreads ratings, and I was so not disappointed.  I'm typically not a fantasy reader or even really science fiction...not necessarily because I don't like it, but more because I just don't know what to read.  This one...A DEFINITE WIN!

Elpis is nothing but full on action and adventure from page 1!  The story begins with us meeting Terico, a blue haired sixteen year old who is handy with a sword...a literal sword.  He, his father, and his best friend, Turan, are in some underground caves searching for this gigantic plant monster because its roots can be used by Terico's mother to make medicines for patients in the clinic.  This scene kind of sets the stage to allow us to see the interaction between Terico and his father and the strong relationship they have.  Terico's father uses this time to teach his son valuable lessons, not just about fighting, but about life.  We also get to see the relationship between Terico and his best friend Turan.  The two have a camaraderie basically like that of brothers..which comes into play much later on.  When they return to Terico's home, with the roots!, Suran is in the kitchen whipping up a little breakfast.  Now, Suran is this cute little red haired girl who Terico has had a crush on since forever.  She is an elf but not the keebler kind...more like LOTR kind.  She is a very selfless young lady and constantly says thank you even if someone is thanking her.  Suran leaves saying she must go help her brother with something, and Terico and Turan set off for school after breakfast.  What they stumble upon on their walk to school will change their lives forever.  Smoke and fire can be seen in the distance and the further they get into the town center, the more destruction they find.  Terico, fearing for the safety of Suran, begins searching the school building only to find everyone dead and the entire building up in flames...yet there is no sign of Suran.  Upon exiting the burning school, barely able to breathe, Terico is attacked by a member of the Brotherhood...this clan of bad guy warriors who are working for the evil Shire brothers, Augurc and Delkol.  He also sees Turan is in a battle with 2 members of the Brotherhood.  Now...they don't just fight with swords like it's all medieval...oh no.  In the world of this book, there exists these powerful stones called Nexi stones.  Each color has a different power that can be used through a simple mental connection with the stone.  For instance, a green Nexi stone will produce vines that can be controlled by the wielder's mind.  Light blue is for ice, dark blue is for water, orange is for super strength, teal is for communication, red is for fire...you get the picture.  It's really quite inventive and the battle scenes described using these Nexi stones has been well thought out.  I seriously would watch the movie about this book!! Back to the battle...ultimately, Terico becomes so exhausted from the smoke inhalation and the use of the Nexi stones that he basically passes out...meanwhile Turan is kidnapped by Augurc.  Now this motherfucker is CREEPY!  He likes to experiment on people...and Nexi stones...and uhhhh just all around mad scientist bad guy creepy experimentation.  He has green Nexi stones grafted into her arms so basically he uses vines as extra arms like that Octopus character in Spiderman and he has a light blue Nexi stone grafted into his hand so he can shoot out ice spikes and stab folks!  He's just creepy and weird and ugh!  Terico eventually comes to enough to stumble back the way he came in hopes of finding his mother and father but his house has already burned down.  He finds more mayhem and destruction at the town cathedral where exhausted once again he falls to the floor.  During his semi-conscious state, he sees the other brother, Delkol, kill everyone who tries to battle him, including Terico's parents.  He beheads Terico's parents in one smooth motion.  Terico succumbs to the darkness and when he awakens, he finds the town burned down and he is the only one left alive.

Terico begins burying the dead of the town in mass graves, and while digging on these graves, he uncovers an underground hiding place of the town drunk named Jujor.  Jujor begins explaining to Terico that the Shire brothers, specifcally Delkol, were looking for a piece of the Elpis stone.  Legend has it, the Elpis stone contains the power of all Nexi stones and was actually used to create them.  Apparently, someone along the way realized it could be used to destroy the world so it was broken into 4 pieces and hidden in different locations.  Jujor and Terico set off to find the first piece, deep underground.  Before they can go though, they need something to battle the Forsaken with, these creatures who are half human half kind of wolf like who honestly have no rational though other than to kill.  In order to obtain a Nexi stone to battle them, they travel to a nearby town to see Febraz, a vampire who once saved Jujor's life.  They obtain from him an indigo Nexi stone, which has the power of soul catching.  Since the Forsaken are neither dead, nor alive, they can't really be killed...only their souls can be taken.  Febraz gives the stone to them after Terico saves his life by alerting him to the fact the blood he is about to drink is poisoned.  Febraz though also requests that Terico do him a favor, whenever he asks for it, and he cannot say not to it.  Terico agrees and off they go.  Jujor and Terico successfully find the piece of the Elpis stone down deep in the caves where an underground town used to exist...thus the residents of this town eventually became...the Forsaken.  Upon retrieving the Elpis fragment, Terico is summoned to Febraz who asks him to help his daughter...

Terico is sent to Istar, a vampire city, to help Area, Febraz's daughter, pass her Rite.  Basically, during the Rite, 2 vampires battle each other to the death,  The victor wins a pink Nexi which has transformative powers thus allowing vampires to walk in the sun.  Area wins, but of her own volition, and she and Terico are teleported back to Febraz but what they find upon their return is not what they were expecting.  Febraz is on the floor with a knife aimed at his heart...the sword held by a Brotherhood member who actually turns out to be Turan but his new Brotherhood name is Lynx.  He's now batshit crazy thanks to all of the experimentation that has been done on him.  Turan escapes and Terico and Area set off to return to Jujor.  Once they are all together again, their next step is to travel to the island of Vurse, a major island of the Eigni people...they're blue and don't have noses.  They might be my favorite simply because of this.  In order to get to Vursa, they need to charter a boat but the only one they can afford is captained by a very loud dude named Borely who reminded me very much of a laid back surfer dude.  Borely is immediately smitten with Areo, but it turns out he has a thing against vampires considering his brother was turned into one and proceeded to kill his family, so Borely had to kill him.  Of course, Areo doesn't let on that she's a vampire and it's a while later before Borely finds out.  The two of them develop that 'we really like each other but we're going to deny it and just argue with one another a whole lot but it's our way of flirting' relationship.  They make it to the island of Vursa and find that all of the people are mindless, except for one boy named Kitoh.  Turns out the government is controlling them...specifically one man, Ganto, who has used the indigo Nexi to take their souls.  Ganto also has a pink Nexi stone, which allows the Eigni people to transform into a dragon which is just what he does.  A battle ensues and Ganto is killed, but Jujor is also killed.  Delkol also shows up but eventually he too is too weakened to continue on in the fight so he flees.

Whils recuperating at Kitoh's house, we learn through the teal Nexi, that Jujor was actually working for the royal court to look out for Terico and help him find the Elpis fragment.  They are also arranging for an airship to pick them up and bring them to capitol of Setar.  When the airship arrives, wouldn't you know, it's Suran and her brother!!  SHE'S ALIVE!  The gang is all back together, except Turan, and they all begin telling stories of their adventures and where they have each been since the devastation of their hometown.  Upon arrival near Setar, enemy airships are trying to surround the capitol, so once again the fighting ensues.  Kitoh turns into a dragon and takes out an airship after he drops of Areo and Borely onto another airship.  Suran and Lanek (her brother) work to engage in aircraft warfare with the other 2 airships.  They manage to take one down, but not the other before members of the Brotherhood manage to make their way onto their airship.  During the process, all of the Brotherhood members are killed, except Turan, who is nearly killed by falling out of the airship.  Terico saves him with the green Nexi and they think the jolt of almost dying has snapped him back to his old self.  In reality though, he's too far gone and he stabs Suran with a blade infused with the poisonous gray Nexi.  Terico thinks he has healed Suran with his Elpis fragments, one of which was retrieved by Suran and Lanek.  It isn't until their airship goes down and Terico wakes up in the infirmary that he realizes the gray Nexi poisoned all of Suran's bloodstream and organs...she will be dead within days.  After a couple of days of suffering, Suran actually does die.  SAY WHAT?!  WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!!!!  Terico though finally gets some sleep.  He is hoping that once he has all of the fragments of the Elpis (he has 2 and Delkol has 2) he will be able to bring her back to life.

The armies of Setar come together and have reinforcements from other areas and THE BATTLE IS ON!  I'm not going to tell you how it ends....because you honestly need to read this book.  I will say though...it doesn't end how you think it's going to and I really really really hope there is a sequel!  I really need to know what happens to a few of my favorite characters.

Honestly, this book was AAAHHHHMAZING and I highly recommend it.  I've written a lot here and given a lot away but there's so much I've left out.  You honestly need to read it too simply for the descriptions of the battles.  McGowan is very descriptive so that you can actually see what's going on, but he doesn't get so involved you lose sight of the big picture.  I honestly loved his characters and wanted to just give Terico a hug.  He has been through so much at such a young age.  He's had such responsibility and expectation and even power thrust upon him.  How he managed through it all, I will never know.  He's definitely a strong young man.  I look forward to many more novels by +Aaron Elpis (Aaronelpis)!!!

Book 33 - The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston

So..it's 4:45am and I have to be at church at 9am but I must write my blog first as I just finished this book 15 minutes ago.  I started my Saturday reading at around 2pm on page 124 and finished this book on page 420 at 4:30am.  Yeah...I read 3/4 of it at one time...

I found that this one was quite different, in terms of style, from the other books by Paula Brackston.  Typically, we get information about other characters from conversations with the main protagonist or from information directly from the protagonist; however, in this book Brackston gives us full information straight from the horse's mouth.  It may be in third person but we actually receive great detail about other key characters in this book...specifically the antagonist, Nicholas Stricklend.  Also, she seems a bit more verbose in this book.  It was very easy for me to get rather dragged down in the beginning by the language, but once the story started unfolding I was eager to keep reading.  I would imagine though, if you've never read a Brackston novel before, this one may not be your favorite.  My advice...go read The Witch's Daughter first...become a fan of Brackston, and then read this one.  It's by far her most in depth in terms of character analysis that I feel she has written yet.  

Anyway...on to a little plot and about the book itself!  There's a lot, and I mean A LOT, going on in this book with multiple plot lines and a lot of detailing and characters I'm going to leave out.  Read if for yourself if you want the dirty details!  Good plot twists too that I'm conveniently leaving out for you as well.  As I said...read it for yourself!  

Lady Lilith Montgomery has just inherited the title of Head Witch of Lazarus Coven upon the passing of her father.  Her brother, Freddie, has inherited the title of Duke of Radnor since he is not a witch.  The Lazarus Coven specializes in witchcraft but more predominately, necromancy.  Now, the Lazarus Coven mostly communes with spirits in order to divine the future and ways in which they might prevent certain events from occurring.  London is on the verge of World War I and the Lazarus Coven is on the brink of war with a separate sect of necromancers that are actually sorcerers known as the Sentinels.  They are ruthless and have no regard for who they raise from the dead.  They are power hungry, one in particular set upon bringing about the demise of the Coven is Nicholas Stricklend.  He is a perfectionist who has no regard for anyone else as they all interrupt his ideal of what perfection is.  I honestly rolled my eyes at this asshole a couple of times.  He sees the perfect opportunity to bring the Coven down with this change in Head Witch status.  He has placed spies within the Coven and has summoned a long dead sorcerer to enter, unbidden, into Lilith's thoughts to plant seeds of doubt.  

Also entering the picture, is Bram Cardale, an artist who, against his father's wishes, has come to London to live with a respected sculptor by the name of Mangan, in order to work on his art as a painter.  It is whilst living with Mangan that he meets Lady Lilith and the two feel something about the other.  Of course, the first time they meet is outside an opium den so she definitely does not have the highest opinion of him.  That all changes when her friend, Charlotte, is having a sculpture of herself done for her parents and Lilith accompanies her for her sittings.  During these sittings, Lilith is able to spend time with Bram and eventually the two fall in love.  The problem though is Lilith is engaged to another man, a witch in fact, and the man she finds herself truly loving, is not a witch.  How on earth will this ever work?!  Simple...you have to give Bram more credit than you're currently doing.  

It is one night at a ball, the night before Lilith and Bram are to run away together for a week, that Stricklend sics one of his minions to kill Freddie if Lilith does not tell him the Great Secret and give him the Lazarus Elixir.  The Lazarus Elixir, as you suspect, brings the dead to life and the Great Secret is the final ingredient needed to make the spell successful....and no I'm not telling you the Great Secret.  Read the book and you'll find out.  Lilith has been raised to maintain the secrecy of the Coven and the items she has been entrusted to protect, no matter the cost or sacrifice.  Freddie is killed and distraught with her grief, Lilith decides to use the Elixir to bring him back to life.  It works of course, because she knows what she's doing but after, a literal pit of hell opens up with freaks Freddie the fuck out and he runs away like a scared little bitch.  Appropriate response, I suppose.  Stricklend has men tailing Lilith so when she and Louis, her witchy fiancee, go searching for him, the bad guys find him first and kill him again.  Needless to say, she doesn't meet with Bram and he flees back to his home thinking she has spurned him because of all the differences between them.  UGH.  Years pass...Bram enlists in the war, Lilith works feeding the hungry at the local convent, and she still puts off marrying Louis.  It's because you don't want to marry him and have his babies, girl!  You want to do the horizontal polka with Bram!  DUH!  

Finally, almost two years after the war has ended, Bram is returning to London for an exhibition of his paintings at a local art gallery.  He sends an invitation to Lilith and they meet once again, the sparks flying just as they had years prior.  She decides then and there to call off the engagement, which she does and finally she and Bram do the horizontal polka.  She has also introduced him to the coven and is basically like look I'm a modern woman as it's the fucking 20's and I can love whom I damn well please.  Get off my nuts.  The Coven really has no other option but to accept him.  After their raucous love making, they go up to her rooftop conservatory where they are attacked by Stricklend.  And then...........LILITH DIES!  AHHHHH!  As she is dying she tells Bram the Great Secret which is overheard by the dead sorcerer who is doing the bidding of Stricklend.  Only, the ghosty leaves before hearing everything so the information he delivers isn't quite right.  Bram calls upon Louis to get his ass to Lilith's house and using the Elixir, Louise is able to successfully bring Lilith back to life.  Lilith, in this holy shit badass risen witch mode, confronts Stricklend and his ghosty at the cemetery where she honestly kicks some major ass.  Sucks to be the bad guys in this one because she banishes them to the pits of hell.  I'm telling you...she's a badass!  Bram and Louis survive the attack though and she and Bram live happily ever after.  I hope Louis wasn't too uncomfortable with their kissing and hand holding at the end.  I like to think he found another witchy woman to make him happy.  He was much too bland for Lilith anyway.  

In the end, Lilith found her strength as a witch, Head Witch, in fact and she got the man of her dreams.  Happiness and champagne all around!  Until the next Sentinel asshole comes along to try to steal the Elixir and the Great Secret...

Book 32 - The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James

Gosh...I seriously just love, love, love everything written by Simone St. James.  I love her strong female protagonists, the horrific imagery she presents in certain scenes that have actually given me nightmares before, the wee bit of romance she throws in...just everything.  She provides a perfect blend of historical drama/romance with suspense and horror.

I must say though, compared to her other works, this one is my least favorite.  It's not bad, I just liked her others better.  

In The Other Side of Midnight we meet Ellie Winter, a legit psychic medium who specializes in finding lost things.  She used to help families communicate with their departed relatives; but she doesn't do that anymore and based on some of the things she sees, I don't blame her one bit.  Ellie's mother used to have the gift but as she got older she began losing her powers and instead Ellie would hide behind a curtain to summon the dead for her mother.  It was after her mother lost her powers that they were 'tested' by a couple of researchers to determine if they truly were legit or not.  Her cancer stricken mother was exhausted and had lost her touch so she went along with everyone believing they were fake.  One particular researcher, James Hawley, caught Ellie's attention and vice versa.  He always knew there was something about her, and he was pretty sure they missed something big.  Of course, he becomes her love interest.  What kind of story would I read without at least a little love blossoming around??  Prior to James testing Ellie and her mother, she had met him on one previous occasion by her friend Gloria, who was the only other legit psychic she had ever met.  Gloria and Ellie used to be kind of like besties...partying, smoking, staying out at all times of the night...which for women of the 1920's was becoming popular but still not something you should do.  And, Ellie had her mother waiting at home to worry about.  It was under Gloria's influence that Ellie and her mother were tested...and publicly announced in an article as frauds.  Thus ending the friendship of Gloria and Ellie.  

Cut to roughly 3 years after the incident and a man shows up at Ellie's house for a session to find his sister's lost locket, which Ellie knows is a lie; but she doesn't know what he's there hoping to learn or prove so she kindly asks him to leave.  He doesn't leave before she tells him what he's truly looking for...lost toy soldiers from his childhood...thus proving her psychic ability is legit.  She still asks him to leave but as she's in her back garden after a long hard day of psychic-ness, she sees him standing there.  He introduces himself as George Sutter...Gloria's brother...and he drops the bomb on her that Gloria was murdered the previous night.  He also tells her a note was left for him, by Gloria, the day she was murdered that simple said "Tell Ellie Winter to find me."  Now Ellie is thrust into an investigation to find out who killed Gloria, but she has no idea who all of the players are.  George seems to keep getting information that is and is not in the reports from Scotland Yard so he obviously has some sort of higher up pull.  Turns out he's an agent for MI5 and he actually wanted to recruit Gloria but Gloria's powers were actually starting to dwindle.  She couldn't do as many sessions anymore so she wasn't making money.  An old beau of hers told her about a wealthy couple who wanted to contact their son who had died in the war, and since she was hard up for money, she agreed even though all of the conditions were not her normal protocol.  She went to the home of the client which was the first time she had ever done that and she didn't go through the scheduling with her assistant which never happened.  Things were just off about the whole thing.  Her old beau needed money too because he was selling drugs and was in a tight spot.  

During the investigation, people keep turning up missing.  First Gloria turns up dead, then her assistant goes missing, and then a fake psychic Ramona ends up dead the same day Ellie was going to pay her a second visit.  Ellie is almost caught by the killer on that occasion; but Ramona's ghost provides her with a warning that he's still inside and she needs to get the hell out of there.  Ellie knows she's next on the list...and there's no telling who else might be before or after her.    

Through this long and winding trip through Gloria's life and Ellie's past and the past friendship they shared we learn who the killer is; but honestly, I felt it was so far out of left field.  The killer was just someone I didn't even think about and honestly seemed a little far fetched with absolutely no back story.  Like, I thought it might be George, the brother, but it wasn't.  I'm honestly just kind of eh when it comes to the end.  I thought for sure it would make me gasp in surprise but it didn't.  Instead, I was just kind of like...uhhhh...well alright then...whatever you say.  I don't know...I just feel like it was a 'I'm not sure how I want this story to end so I'm just going to throw this out there and hope it sticks'.  I just didn't really like the ending.  It was going along great and then to me it was a dud...

I will not let this deter me from reading her future works though.  I have never been disappointed by St. James and honestly it was just the ending that fell flat for me here.  I have always thoroughly enjoyed her other works so I'm chalking this one up to "just not my cup of tea".  On to the next...     

Book 31 - Inspector of the Dead by David Morrell

Oh...just...stop what you're doing and READ IT!  You don't even need to read the first one in the Thomas De Quincey series to know who everyone is and to realize that this is a good fucking book!

So I am not a historian, history buff, or anything remotely close to one; but I did actually do a little digging for this book. I knew that Morrell blended fact with fiction, but I honestly had no idea there were so many assassination attempts made on the life of Queen Victoria.  As I said...history was never my thing.  I memorized enough to get an A on the test, recall it for the final, and then immediately cleared the information out to make room for more pressing information....like differential equations and entropy.  As I read this book, I'm realizing I did myself a disservice, but at the same time, I'm loving learning about it now.  I think maybe the older I get, the more interested in history I become.  When I say I love all things Victorian England, I'm honestly speaking of the culture.  I felt in order to fully discriminate between fact and fiction, I had to do a little Googling first...after I finished the book of course. I didn't want to ruin the surprise...surprises to me, at least.

Morrell has a serious skill in blending fact with fiction...like holy shit mad skill.  He weaves this storyline together and throws a couple of twists in there that just left me utterly entertained.  Honestly, if I'm judging based off of this one book; he's a superb writer.

In Inspector of the Dead, there are a few plot lines going on that Morrell blends beautifully.  We begin at a church service where four people enter, looking a little low class, with written permission from Lord Palmerston to use his church pew.  It's a packed house for this particular Sunday, as a decorated Colonel who valiantly fought in the Crimean War is visiting.  Following the illustrious arrival of the Colonel, the vicar gasps as he sees old Lady Cosgrove's head almost fall off and blood leaking out under her pew.  *GASP* *THROAT SLIT AT CHURCH*  In her hand is a note on black paper that simply says "Young England".  Mayhem ensues but is slightly contained considering two of the four low class looking folks are Scotland Yard detectives, Becker and Ryan.  Ryan is the more experienced and sends Becker to the home of Lady Cosgrove to inform the family of her death, but also, to determine just what the monkey has happened to Lord Cosgrove as no one knew this mofo was dead as evidenced by Lady Cosgrove wearing a whole lot of mourning black.  Also in attendance with Becker and Ryan, are opium addict and murder specialist Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily.  De Quincey may not have the title of a homicide detective but he might as well be.  De Quincey already has an idea, but it isn't until Becker arrives at the Cosgrove home that they realize Lord Cosgrove has been murdered with his body posed to signify a message...I believe the law is blind but take what you will from it.  He also has a note that says "Edward Oxford" who was the first man to attempt to kill Queen Victoria in 1840.  From there the bodies keep stacking up, each posed in a manner to signify how the killer has been wronged by the system, and each containing the name of someone who attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria.  The queen is immediately alerted after the Cosgrove murders but there's not much she can do about it...she's busy being queen and all.

It isn't until the Grandwood murders that we learn just what the hell is going on -- who the "Revenger" is, why he's doing what he's doing, and who all his targets truly are.  I was honestly shocked and surprised by who it turned out to be.  Fifteen years before, a young Irish boy's mother was arrested for shoplifting because the shop owner planned to strike a bargain with her...her body for her freedom.  He never got the chance to do that though because she was soon transported to Newgate prison and he never said a word about her innocence.  The boy and his father went to London to see about getting her out of prison, at which time the father fell ill for drinking bacteria laden water while the boy returned home for his sisters.  It wasn't until he was searching for help for his father that the boy received the only bit of help, if you could call it that.  The boy was told to tell the guards his mother was in prison for debt and his sisters would be allowed to stay with her until she could figure out how to pay the debt.  Of course he was lying, but it put a roof over his sisters' heads and a bit of bread in their stomachs.  From there it only got worse.  Turns out the guards actually sexually assaulted the young girls and their mother was sick prompting the older daughter to smother her mother and sister, and then hang herself.  The father passed away as well leaving the young boy to struggle and raise himself.  It was at the same time he ran beside the queen's carriage yelling for someone to please help his mother, father, and sisters that Edward Oxford carried out his assassination attempt.  The boy was taken in by a wealthy railroad builder who sexually assaulted him until he pushed him from a train car leaving him paralyzed.  The evil part of me says good for you boy.  He didn't deserve to be abused...he had already had enough to last a lifetime without this fucker putting his hands on him.  Fifteen years later, the boy was a grown man who no one would have ever expected of murder much less creating the new Young England.

In the end, the revenger is just so utterly broken that despite all the people he has killed, I can't help but feel for him.  I honestly just wanted to hold him and say how sorry I was for everything that had happened.  His story honestly broke my heart, and I don't know what I would have done is his place...ended up dead in the streets probably.  It was such a heart wrenching tale that I honestly never really expected.  Morrell has such a fascinating way of blending in the history of the assassination attempts with the fiction of a murderous story line.  Such fantastic writing and creative story telling.  I look forward to the next in this series, and I'm going to have to go pick up the first one.

I honestly barely skimmed the surface when it comes to the content of this book.  If you like a little blending between fact and fiction, definitely pick this up.  It's fast paced with multiple story lines that are flawlessly weaved together for a fantastic read.  Bravo, well done, and a thousand thumbs up to this book!    

Book 30 - Soulless: A Parasol Protectorate Novel by Gail Carriger

Absolutely SUPERB! I absolutely LOVED everything about this book! All of the characters, the fact that it was action packed, a little romantic without the frustrating bullshit of will they or won't they; and it takes place in Victorian London...which if you've been keeping up with me, you know I love all things Victorian London.  I'm honestly convinced that's the time and place my soul was born.  

In Soulless, we meet Alexia Tarabotti who is, of course, a spinster at the very old age of 26...we already have something in common.  She is what is known as a preternatural in a world of humans and supernaturals.  Supernaturals, of course, being vampires, werewolves, and ghosts.  Alexia, however, is not quite human but she's not supernatural either.  The preternatural has the ability to basically 'cancel out' the abilities of the supernatural with a single touch.  She can cause the vampire to revert back to its human form (no fangs or biting) and she can change the wolf back into its human form even on a full moon when none can resist the change.  She has a sharp wit and her tongue often gets her into trouble.  I just love her character and her spirit.  She's a bit feisty and has a fire about her that I would imagine was quite rare for the time.  Alexia lives in a world where the supernatural are fully out in the open, a bit like True Blood, and there are certain governing bodies that keep everyone in track.  All supernatural peoples must register themselves with the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR).  Even those that do not belong to a hive (vampires) or a pack (werewolves) still must register themselves and would be noted as being roves (loners).  

We first encounter Alexia in the library at a ball because she has stepped aside to request tea because there were no sandwiches at the ball as promised.  How very uncouth of them.  When she enters the library there happens to be a vampire in there; but there's something off about him.  For starters, he's starving and any self respecting hive would not allow one of its own to get to this state of starvation.  Also, he has no clue who she is...and no self respecting hive would not educate its members as to just who and what a preternatural is.  And lastly, he has a fang lisp which is apparently the lowliest of lows and immediately alerts Alexia that something is very wrong here.  In the end, she accidentally kills him because he tries to attack her multiple times.  It was all actually quite a funny incident.  However, the BUR must now step in because this rove vampire is quite suspicious and Alexia could be in a lot of trouble for killing him.  This is where we meet Lord Conall Maccon, Earl of Woosley aka the werewolf Alpha and a lead inspector with the BUR.  He's also yummy deliciousness and has always had these flirty, sparring, quick witted banter matches with Alexia which infuriates him and her alike, but also brings them closer to one another.  With him is his Beta, Professor Lyall and they begin to discuss this random vampire she has just killed.  From here, hijinks ensue for Alexia.  

The local hive is not claiming the lone vampire and Professor Lyall learns that vampires and werewolves are disappearing in not only London, but other areas of England as well.  When he returns to tell Lord Maccon of this information, he finds Lord Maccon and Alexia making out in the street which is most improper.  But, in their defense, Lord Maccon did just save her behind from being kidnapped on her way home after she had been visiting with Lord Akeldama, a most flamboyantly homosexual vampire who you honestly can't help but love.  

Now, a random vampire has shown up and is dead; werewolves and vampires are missing; and someone with a creepy, not human, waxy figure has just tried to kidnap Alexia.  Just what the monkey is going on around here?!  Throw in the fact that Lord Maccon is waiting on Alexia to make the move because that's what werewolf protocol states; and Alexia is waiting on him to return his attentions to her because that's what human custom dictates, and you've got the makings of some actual comedy.  The two of them begin this little dance of trying to make the other jealous when really they both want each other; blessedly, it doesn't take them too long to figure it out and get it together.  

Shit kind of blows up though on the full moon.  The creepy, wax figure thing shows up at Lord Akeldama's house while Alexia is visiting and both are kidnapped.  They're chloroformed and taken to a local science club that has just opened up.  These fuckers...holy cow.  These scientists are trying to figure out ways that supernaturals exist...why do they exist?  How come some can change from human to supernatural and others can't?  Is it an energy transfer?  Is it because one has more soul than another?  How does one quantitate and potentially weight the soul in hopes of knowing, before transformation is attempted, if it will be successful?  Dude...so many questions...and I'm all for science and research because I am a scientist, but uhhhhh even I know inhumane when I see it...whether you're supernatural or not.  These fuckers want to conduct all kinds of torturous experiments on not only vampires and werewolves, but also Alexia.  It's really just fucked up.  The things people do in the name of science...

A battle ensues between Lord Maccon who is trying to get to his love muffin in order to save her ass and the rest of these scientists and their hired goons.  Luckily, the good guys win and the scientists are taken down.  These scientists were taken blood from vampires, and Lord Akeldama being one of the oldest, and placing it into a human (I'm thinking dead), and making their own uneducated vampires.  There's a reason they're transformed within the confines of a hive, people!  There are certain rules and customs that must be taught and followed!  Jeez!  

I really just enjoyed the premise behind it all...mad scientists thinking they're doing what's best for the human population when really I'm not so sure the supernaturals are a threat.  Their numbers are so small and it honestly seems like they haven't caused any unrest.  It's the loco human scientists who are off their rockers.  I love that Alexia is a strong woman and embraces her spinster status.  She basically does what she wants until Lord Maccon makes her his wife...then she still does what she wants, probably more so just to spite him.  She doesn't take his shit and she's just as much an Alpha as he is.  I loved their sparring and flirty banter.  I loved mostly everyone except Alexia's family who is just irritating and meddling and won't leave the girl alone in peace.  They're put in their place, blessedly, a couple of times which made me laugh out loud and smile with pure glee.  I loved Alexia and the fact that she embraced that she was different.  She didn't want to be like the rest of the women of the time and I admire that.  She shows that different is a good thing and I think that's a positive message.  Lord knows, I don't want to go with the flow of the crowd.  

I so look forward to the rest of Alexia's shenanigans...and hopefully steamy, sappy moments between her and Conall!  :)  This is definitely one of those series I'll be buying the rest of at one time.        

Book 29 - Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

This book...made me laugh, made me sigh with frustration, and made me cry like a baby.

SPOILER ALERTS...big time...because I just can't get over what Colgan did!

In Little Beach Street Bakery, we meet Polly who has just had her world tumble in around her.  Her graphic design business she has with her boyfriend has just gone bankrupt...and so has their relationship.  Given that she is now jobless, homeless, and relatively single, Polly begins scouring that interwebs to find a place to live that she can afford but also that she doesn't have to share with college kids.  She widens her search area and stumbles upon a flat on the island of Mount Polbearne where she is immediately entranced by the view the little flat has.  She and her friend Kerensa go check it out...and it's a disaster.  It's a ramshackle apartment on top of a bakery that is in need of a good scrubbing and a new roof..and it slopes slightly.  But...when Polly looks out the window at the ocean, she cannot help but feel a sense of calm she hasn't felt for many years.  

While unpacking what little things she has that the bank didn't take, some of her late father's books get picked up by the wind from the ocean.  Thinking she has lost her father's copy of Alice in Wonderland, along with all of her other recent troubles, she sits down to have a good cry...which is what we all would have done.  She is interrupted by a man clearing his throat and looks up to find Tarnie, a fisherman, holding her Alice in Wonderland.  He is also in the company of four other fishermen who make up his crew and they all lend a hand in getting Polly's meager belongings into the shanty apartment.  She starts to begin to get her life together by giving the flat a good scrubbing and baking a loaf of bread.  Polly has always had a hobby for baking, specifically bread...of all types.  She bakes a loaf and takes it down to the harbor to the fishermen who helped her out.  They are all immediately in love with her bread.  Thus begins a nice little friendship with this group of men, specifically the captain, Tarnie who is tall, blue eyed, and bearded.  Side note...I hate a beard.  I do not find them attractive AT ALL.  But eh...that's just me.  Anyway, she is in her first couple of nights in her new home when she is awoken by a terrible scream.  Upon investigation, she notices a baby puffin has crashed through her window downstairs and has a broken wing.  She binds his wing up, based on what Google said, and finds him a little resting place in a cardboard box.  The next day she takes him to the vet in town and he tells her to keep him for four weeks and then he must go back to the puffin sanctuary.  He warns her to not get attached but uh duh...of course she does.  It's an adorable baby puffin who waddles around and eats breadcrumbs.  I'd have kept him too!  

She heard from the fishermen about some local honey so one day Polly sets off with some bread and her puffin, whom she has no named Neil, to explore her new home land.  She comes upon the beekeeper's place when they each trade their wares.  He offers her some honey so she can use it in some bread and she offers him some of her fresh bread.  Literally...that's so not a metaphor for anything even though Huckle is a Georgia boy who has blonde hair, blue eyes, and stands at around 6 feet 2 inches.  Uh....yummy.  It was at this point that I was wondering who her love interest was going to be...every chick lit book has one.  Turns out...she has a little fling with Tarnie.  He romances her by taking her to a small sandbar island where they fish and cook and swim...and ultimately have sex.  They begin a little relationship but it's not a full on relationship because they never go out anywhere in public and they never really discuss just what they are to each other.  And...wouldn't you know, in a town of less than 1000 people, everyone knows.  It isn't long after Polly learns why they never really go out in public or actually have made anything official...TARNIE IS MARRIED!  So what??!!  Well I guess that rules him out as a long term happy life playmate.  And of course...the whole town also knows this...so now everyone knows Polly has slept with a married man.  Tarnie begins avoiding her so she throws herself into work and she sometimes hangs out with Huckle. 

She begins to uncover Huckle's story and she finds they actually have a lot in common.  Jobs they didn't love...people who didn't love them back...running away to do what you love and get away from it all.  She also meets Huckle's friend, Reuben, who apparently has more money than Donald Trump.  Her friend Kerensa comes to visit and Reuben is immediately smitten by her sharp attitude and lack of care as to his monetary worth.  It is also around this time that Huckle comes up with the great idea that Polly should bake bread and work out a deal with the only other bakery in town (that completely sucks) which is also owned by her landlady, Mrs. Manse.  Polly talks with Mrs. Manse and they work out a deal that Polly will make bread and Mrs. Manse will handle the money for it.  

It is one morning when she is getting up to begin her baking that she notices the dark storm clouds looming and the fishermen pull up.  She runs out to ask them if they're crazy for going out into this storm, and it's also the first time she's seen Tarnie since she learned he was married.  She finally confronts him about it but the whole thing is amicable and they make amends with one another.  Which is good because the storm was worse than anyone could have predicted.  She awakes the next morning to crowds of people everywhere and rescue boats searching the sea for crews.  Reuben and Huckle are also on Reuben's boat looking.  Her friend Kerensa has also come to check on her and they spend the day serving bread, tea, and coffee to the people and fishermen that have been found.  But there's one boat that still has not yet been recovered...Tarnie and his crew.  Kerensa and Polly go with Reuben and Huckle to do a little searching of their own but to no avail.  Huckle is concerned about how withdrawn and despondent Polly is but Kerensa promises to take care of her.  The next morning, Polly awakens to the sound of a bell tolling and Reuben's boat coming in with 4 men...Tarnie's crew had 5.  The author KILLED TARNIE OFF!  She kills him off so that he could save Jayden, a young boy that was part of his crew.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  It wasn't enough that he was unfaithful to his wife BUT YOU HAD TO KILL HIM?  UGHHHH...hello water works for 30 pages.  

Polly, with the help of her friends, organizes a memorial service for Tarnie.  Reuben, with all of his money, throws a huge celebration as a wake.  A huge party with music, dancing, food, and booze.  Polly also met Tarnie's wife and actually instantly liked the woman, but she never told her about her tryst with Tarnie.  It was all a very sad 30 pages and I cried like a baby through all of it.  It is at this wake though, that Kerensa finally realizes she does like Reuben and Polly and Huckle finally have a make out session.  FINALLY!  But...ugh...Polly gets in her head and thinks maybe that's not the best time to be making out with another man, but Huckle takes it as she's in love with Tarnie.  Now I was frustrated because they're both getting in their own way.  If only they would have actually talked about some shit but instead Huckle shuts down and Polly just assumes that means he's not ready for a relationship.  ARE YOU SERIOUS?  He attacked your face with his tongue and you think that means he doesn't want a relationship?! UGHHH!  

As per his MO, Huckle flees back to Georgia without really talking to Polly and it's not until Reuben and Kerensa's wedding that the two are face to face with one another again.  FINALLY, they talk things over and realize that duh they really do like one another.  Bow chicka wow wow ensues and she takes a trip with him to Georgia but she alas must return to her bakery.  Her life is in Mount Polbearne.  He finally gets it through his thick skull after she has returned that Polly is the one for him and she had been tending to his beehives that entire time he was in Georgia.  He returns to Mount Polbearne and they confess their love for one another.  

In the end, Polly got her happy ending.  A job she absolutely loves, a puffin who returned to her even after she took him to the puffin sanctuary, and a hotty of a man.  But I'm still pissed that Tarnie was killed off.  I feel the whole married thing effectively got him out of the way...did you really have to kill him???  *Sigh*   

Book 28 - Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler

Oh, she has done it again!  I have seriously found a new favorite author in +Erica Spindler!!  The first book I ever read by her, The First Wife, was so phenomenal I purchased four of her other books.  I was hoping to not be disappointed based on how much I loved The First Wife...and I can tell you...she's NOT just a one hit wonder!  You go, Erica!  I'm looking forward to the other three on my bookshelf and basically her entire bibliography!
I am, for the most part, a slow reader...and I read 210 pages in one sitting.  That's at least half the book, kids!  READ THIS WOMAN'S WORK!  

Now that I'm done raving about how fantastic this author is, on to the book!  

In Justice for Sara, we initially meet Katherine (Kat) and learn she left her home of Liberty, LA after being acquitted for the murder of her sister, Sara.  She was able to open a chain of organic and all natural bread stores/bakeries in Portland, OR.  But, for the past 10 years, she's been receiving anonymous letters from someone asking "What about Justice for Sara?" and the latest one she has received has dared her to return to her hometown of Liberty.  Kat finally decides 10 years has been long enough so maybe she should return home in order to find Sara's murderer.  

We learn the evidence, all completely circumstantial, that was stacked up against Kat; and we learn the Chief of Police had an alcohol addiction of his own that began after one of his son's drown back in the earlier 90's.  Cut to 10 years after the fact, the Chief is battling cancer, and his son, Sergeant Luke Tanner, is now acting chief.  Upon the return of Kat, he knows something wasn't right about the original investigation and after talking to Kat about her suspicions that the killer still resides in Liberty, he reopens the case; much to the chagrin of his father.  I like how we get to see a different perspective in this book.  There are sections that float between each person's life from 2003 when the murder occurred so we're able to take a peek inside everyone's lives.  We get to know about Luke and his strained relationship with his father.  We get to know about Chief Stephen's struggle with alcohol after the death of his son.  We get to see the breakdown and rebuilding of the father/son relationship between Stephen and Luke.  I liked that this book was from a third person perspective.  I like a peek behind the curtain and yet most of the time, I still can't figure out who the hell did it!  I have ideas but never the whole story!  It's why I keep turning the pages...I must know what happened!  And why!  

Anyway, Kat begins doing her own investigative thing, even though Luke has warned her not to...women are stubborn though.  She first basically points the finger at her sister's boyfriend (at the time), Danny.  Turns out his skeleton is that he's got a gambling addiction.  But, he was also madly in love with Sara.  Downside is though, he viewed her kind of like his ticket into bigger and better things than just being a high school P.E. teacher.  We don't all always get our happy ending.

Then she points the finger at Ryan and Bitsy.  So...back when she was a shitty teenager, Kat was just that.  She was 17, rebellious, ran with the wrong crowd, was being raised by her sister because their parents had been killed in a car accident, and was madly in love with a 20 year old boy, Ryan, who viewed her as his ticket out because she stood to get A LOT of money from her trust fund....and even more upon the death of her sister.  Bitsy was her childhood best friend who apparently always wanted Ryan, and was therefore always envious of Kat because she always had everything Bitsy wanted.  Oh cry me a river, girl.  Count your own blessings!  Turns out, none of them did it.  I was so hoping Ryan and Bitsy played a part in it...I just didn't like them.  They're were snobby assholes...

And...another frustrating thing...the nosy neighbor across the street, Mrs. Bell...everyone has that nosy neighbor, especially in small towns...she had a fucking stroke the day after Sara was murdered so the one key witness who probably would have been able to solve this whole thing can't remember who anyone is or where she's at!  IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!  And then, some asshole went and killed this little old lady!  All she wanted was for someone to come visit with her, drink tea, and eat cookies.  Fuckers had to kill her...

Turns out there was this whole convoluted plot that came about after Sara was killed in a rage but someone I never suspected.  I suspected there was just something not quite right about them, but I didn't expect everything they did.  After all, Sara had her head bashed in with a baseball bat...if that's not a personal murder with a lot of rage spurring it on, I don't know what is.  I'm not going to reveal the killer or killers or the elaborate scheme that caused all of this...after all...I want you to read Spindler!  All I will say is...Oh what a tangled web we weave.  People can seriously get themselves in some deep shit.  They seriously should have lived by the saying that the truth hurts but it's always welcome...

Honestly though, if you're a murder mystery fan, love some fantastic plot twists, and like a little romance thrown in...go read everything by Erica Spindler!  This is the second book for me and I have nothing but positive things to say about both of them.  

READ ERICA SPINDLER!   

Book 27 - Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton

This book is number 3 in the Lizzy and Diesel series by Janet Evanovich.  I recommend reading them in order so go ahead and grab a copy of Wicked Appetite and Wicked Business, settle in, and prepare to laugh out loud! 

Okay, so I'm a huge fan of Janet Evanovich so this review might be a bit biased.  Anytime I want to read something light and funny, she is my go to author.  Since this one is the third in the series I'll try to provide a bit of background information, but seriously...you need to read them yourself.  And when you've read these, do yourself a favor and read the Stephanie Plum Series, and hell ALL of her books! 

For lack of a better term, I'm going to call this the Wicked series because I really don't feel like typing out the Lizzy and Diesel series every time.  With that being said, in the Wicked series, Lizzy is a baker in the Salem/Marblehead area of Massachusetts.  (Long side note...I looked into visiting Salem, MA and all of its tourist glory so it was interesting to read about some of the places in this book and know I had looked at visiting them.  One day...I WILL make it to Salem!  Hopefully sooner rather than later. End site note.)  She lives in a historic home and works at Dazzle's Bakery making all kinds of yummy goodness that is just a little bit special because Lizzy herself is special.  She's got a little magic up her sleeve that somehow ends up in her food making it that much better.  Lizzy is also one of two people on the entire planet who can detect these enchanted stones known as the SALIGIA stones.  They each hold the power of a seven deadly sin.  By themselves and in the wrong hands they can create a bit of crazy, but together, they would wreck havoc upon the earth.  Lizzy, at one time, thought she was just an excellent baker until a yummy, sandy blonde hair, surfer looking dude who stands at around 6 feet tall with abs of steel showed up.  He works for an organization that is tasked with keeping folks with special abilities under control.  He's also been tasked to work with Lizzy to find these stones and keep them out of the hands of anyone who would abuse their power.  Diesel has a way with picking locks by just holding his hands over the and is just all around good at getting the job done.  There's also crazy, wicked sexual chemistry between him and Lizzy...the downside though is that if two people with special abilities do the horizontal polka, one of them would lose their abilities.  Considering they've only found three stones, it would be bad bad bad if Lizzy lost her abilities.  

Remember I said Lizzy was one of two who can detect these stones?  So the other kid who can detect them goes by the name of Hatchet and considers himself to be stuck in the Renaissance era.  He works for Diesel's cousin, Wulf, who is all around just creepy.  He's hot, but pasty white with long black hair...Lizzy likens him to a Hollywood vampire.  Wulf has a crap ton of money and can do this poofing in and out thing kind of like teleportation.  He also wants the stones so anytime you see Lizzy and Diesel working together, you can be sure Wulf and Hatchet are going to make an appearance. 

In Wicked Charms, Diesel and Lizzy are searching for the stone of Avarice.  There's a billionaire in the area named Martin Ammon who believes himself to be the embodiment of Mammon, one of the seven princes of hell and the Demon of Greed...hello weirdo.  He needs to obtain the stone of Avarice in order to undergo a ritual that will release Mammon upon the earth.  Ugh...people and money!  In order to find the stone though, they first must find a coin that has been split up into 8 pieces...ugh...pirates and their pieces of eight!  Once the coin pieces have been found, it can be used to decipher the code on a treasure map in order to find the Blue Diamond which will then be used as a guide that actually turns blue when it gets near the Avarice stone.  But, it will only 'work' when in the hands of someone with Lizzy's abilities.  Through a tale of interweaving pirate tales, Lizzy and Diesel are able to find the pieces of the coin, find the blue diamond, and find the stone.  Of course, things never go that smoothly, especially when you've got a billionaire freak on the loose who thinks he's a fucking demon of Greed.  Hijinks about for these guys.  Glo, the counter girl at Dazzle's Bakery, botches a spell to make Ammon forget they stole his treasure map and ends up making him think he's a fucking dog.  Hatchet and Wulf keep showing up throwing a monkey wrench into the plan.  Speaking of monkeys, Diesel has one named Carl who says EEP a lot, flips the bird, and moons people.  You meet Carl in one of the Stephanie Plum books!  There's a crazy history professor that wants to find the stone for himself but he ends up falling off a ledge and breaking his neck.  A private investigator hired by Ammon to find the coin ends up shooting himself and then falling thereby causing him to break his neck.  There's a coroner who can see the last thing his 'patients' thought.  Oh and Ammon wants Lizzy to write a cookbook and gets her to sign a contract so he basically owns everything she's ever thought of cooking.  DO YOU SEE HOW THIS COULD BE HILARIOUS? 

Seriously, this book is nothing by shenanigans that had me laughing out loud a couple of times to the point I couldn't keep reading until I calmed down.  This shit would seriously only happen to Lizzy!  It's such a light hearted book that things are settled within a couple of pages when Ammon tries to complete the ritual to become Mammon.  The ritual requires a sacrifice but he doesn't want to kill Lizzy himself because he's going to be busy receiving the power of Mammon so he wants his assistant, Rutherford, to do it.  Well shit, Ammon.  Never give a gun to a man who has no clue what to do with it.  Rutherford ends up accidentally shooting Ammon in the chest thereby killing him and all is well with Lizzy when Diesel comes swooping in.  Only to Lizzy would this shit happen, I tell you!    

I laughed so many times during this book and I just absolutely love the relationship between Lizzy and Diesel.  He doesn't always stick around and he typically just shows up out of no where, but they have some weird sort of relationship like they both know they belong to one another.  I absolutely love this series, sometimes I think more than the Stephanie Plum series.  I cannot wait for the next one to come out which I'm sure will be a while from now.  Until then, I'll have to catch up on the Plum series.  I cannot say enough good things about the Wicked series.  Well done, Evanovich and Sutton, well done!  

My final words, 

READ THE LIZZY AND DIESEL SERIES!  NOW, DAMN IT!   

Book 26 - The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

The Wicked Will Rise is the next installment (hopefully) to the Dorothy Must Die series.  For more information from my perspective on that one, see the post about book 23 :) 

UGH...DOROTHY...*SNARL* 

We pick up where we left off with Amy and Ozma being carried away by the faux winged monkeys, Ollie and Maude, after Amy has just removed the Tin Man's heart.  They're headed to the Queendom of the Wingless Ones to regroup since all hell just broke loose in the Emerald City at the palace.  However, on the way they encounter the Lion...this damn lion, man.  Amy begins to tap into some seriously dark magic within herself and almost crosses a line in the sand into a very dark place that she may not be able to come back from.  She ends up defeating the Lion by cutting off his tail which is where his courage is stored.  Still...a side of Amy is revealed that is downright frightening to those around her and maybe a little bit to herself...but what's even more frightening is how much she actually likes the darkness.  I think it speaks to human nature though...there's a little bit of dark in all of us...just what can a person be driven to do?

Once in the land of the monkeys, Amy goes before Queen Lulu who is a monkey with a bad ass attitude who basically makes it seem like she's allowing Amy to stay there out of the goodness of her monkey heart.  Ugh...I spent most of this little trip rolling my eyes at Lulu.  It's during the time that we're chilling with the monkeys that we learn just who the fuck Pete is.  Apparently, when Ozma was birthed, created, whatever, she was a baby that was stolen away by the Wizard (dick) and given to Mombi because he thought he could do such a better job at ruling Oz.  Mombi was a novice witch and when she tried to mask Ozma's true identity she accidentally created another soul within the same body.  I know..weird concept but when you actually read it, it makes a lot more fucking sense.  Anyway...Amy learns that if she taps into her magic, she can see these magical strings that make up everything and by manipulating a few of them, she can pull Pete forward and he can take over while Ozma in her loopy, no good state is suppressed.  Amy and Pete are hanging out when Mombi teleports in from out of nowhere, is arrested by the monkeys, and placed on trial for basically being a wicked witch.  She's an excellent actress, that Mombi.  Mombi basically sets herself up Amy's room to recuperate after the battle she was just in at the palace while she sends Amy and Ozma on a mission to find Polychrome, the daughter of the Rainbow.  Sometimes, more than once, I wondered if Paige was on an acid trip while writing these books...they're entertaining at least *shrug*.  

Along the way to find Polychrome, Amy and Ozma go through the Fog of Doubt where you see Amy start to begin to find herself and her confidence.  Once she passes the test in the Fog of Doubt, they must find the Island of Lost Things which you can only find by being utterly and truly lost.  Once on the island they find Nox!  Woot Woot!  I was relieved to learn the hottie with a body hadn't died during the skirmish at the palace!  Also showing up on the island is Bright...another hottie who knows Polychrome and agrees to take them to her.  From there we go to Rainbow Falls where we meet Polychrome and learn that Bright is her consort.  Polychrome knows some fairy magic so Amy gives her the Tin Man's heart and the Lion's tail in hopes she can figure out who placed the magic on them.  Mombi also sent Amy to Polychrome in hopes she would be able to undo whatever Dorothy has done to Ozma in order to bring the Queen back to her senses.  Polychrome has some ideas, but in order to do so, Pete would more than likely be erased.  Pete hears this, flips his shit, knocks Amy out, goes to Glinda who in turn arrives in Rainbow Falls with fucking Dorothy and they burn that shit to the ground.  In the skirmish in the sky, Polychrome and her familiar are killed but we learn that Dorothy can't be killed by Amy and Amy can't be killed by Dorothy....curious.  Bitches, Dorothy and Glinda, also escape with a kidnapped Ozma.    

Amy and Nox get off the charred remains of Rainbow Falls by some magic doorway thanks to Bright and they come face to face with a yellow brick wall.  Amy loses her shit and begins beating the wall until her dark magic comes out and she transforms into some hideous creature.  Luckily, she pulverizes the wall and Nox is able to bring her ass back to normal.  The monkeys show up and reveal that Glinda and Dorothy just arrived not long before.  Behind the brick wall is the Emerald City but it has been corrupted into something foul and evil.  On the steps of the palace Amy and Nox find the Scarecrow with his brain empty but Amy still rips his head off.  Once inside the palace, they see that everything is just wrong: there's a jungle growing out of the ceiling, staircases in midair, and Dorothy and Ozma are heading up one of those staircases in order to get to the maze that apparently surrounds the heart of Oz.  Nox can't teleport but Amy is able to by slipping into the shadow world so she is able to follow them in secret.  They get to the heart of the maze where the Wizard is.  

The Wizard is seriously on a power trip...ugh.  It's a bit stereotypical honestly...a man wanting power...I'm just saying.  He somehow holds a hypnotic power over Dorothy and Amy so that they both become compliant with what he wants.  It is now that we learn that apparently Kansas and Oz are the same place, just basically on different dimensions and that in order to power Oz, it's been coming from Kansas thus the reason it's such a dull place.  Once again...acid trip??  Anyway, another tornado comes into play, Pete somehow bursts through Ozma's chest so now they're 2 different individuals, and Dorothy snaps out of the spell by all of the commotion and kills the shit out of the Wizard.  Like holy shit, can you say blood splatter?  Anyway, with the tornado, Amy and Dorothy are transported back the fuck to Kansas!  What the monkey??!!  It is then that Amy notices three figures in cloaks, one of them is Glamora and she tells Amy to "Rise".  So side note on that...on her first night in monkey country, Amy had a dream that she stumbled upon three witches around a fountain and they told her to "Rise" and out of the fountain came Ozma, but she was darker than Amy knows her to be.  Turns out it was some foreshadowing.  Anyway, back in Kansas they tell her to "Rise" and she steps forward, but she also hears a man calling her name.  She can't place who it is or why it's important so I'm left hanging wondering if it's Pete or Nox.  It better fucking be Nox.  Nox is the love interest and I need him to stay around.  By the way, Pete is gay which I felt came out of left field but honestly I probably shouldn't be surprised considering he's been part of a fucking princess his entire life.  

So yeah...Pete is no longer part of Ozma.  I'm still not sure that whatever spell Dorothy placed on Ozma is broken.  I have no idea what will happen to Dorothy now that she's back in the world of Kansas.  I don't know if Kansas and Oz have now somehow merged or if she's in legit Kansas.  I don't know where Nox or Pete are.  I just know that Amy is about to be full on witchy and Glamora is alive.  I also don't know what happened to Glinda but apparently the monkeys were able to do a little damage to her.  It's like an episode of Lost...I have 45 new questions and not a single fucking answer.  Ugh...this is what sucks about reading a series still in progress.  I want answers NOW!  And I have no idea when the next book will be out!!!  

Hurry Up, Danielle Paige!  I need to know just what the hell is going to happen next!!!  

I'm seriously and ridiculously hooked on this series!