Stained Everywhere With Love

SPOILER ALERT
These reviews are for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Delirium and Pandemonium, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Annabel~
Delirium
Book 0.5
By Lauren Oliver
Amazon ~ Powell's

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.


An interesting look into Lena's mother's past and time in the Crypts.

Love, the Deadliest of All Deadly Things

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Delirium, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Pandemonium~
Delirium
Book 2
By Lauren Oliver
Amazon ~ Powell's

The old life is dead. But the old Lena is dead too. I buried her. I left her beyond a fence, behind a wall of smoke and flame. In this electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller Delirium, Lauren Oliver sets Lena on a dangerous course that hurtles through the unregulated Wilds and into the heart of a growing resistance movement. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.


It's been a while since I read the first book, but why leave a good series unfinished?

Brothers Again—Once and for Always

~Hope Rides Again~
Obama Biden Mysteries
Book 2
By Andrew Shaffer
Amazon ~ Powell's

Following a successful but exhausting book tour, Joe Biden is looking forward to returning home. However, before he does, he's got one last stop to make: Chicago, where the Obama Foundation is holding its first annual global economics forum. Barack Obama has invited Joe to meet a wealthy left-leaning philanthropist, whose deep pockets Joe will need if he decides to run for president. Joe isn't even sure if wants to run...but he's not going to pass up a rare chance to reconnect with his one-time governing mate.

Joe and Obama barely have time to catch up before another mystery lands in their laps: Obama's prized Blackberry is stolen. When the suspect turns up comatose from a gunshot wound, local police are content with writing it off as just another gangland shooting. But Joe and Obama smell a rat.

In a race to find the shooter, Joe and Obama butt heads with their former compadre, Mayor Rahm Emanuel; follow a trail of clues through Chicago's South Side; go undercover inside a Prohibition-era speakeasy; and scale the Tribune Tower in a Die Hard-worthy final set-piece.

Robert Frost said "the woods are dreary, dark, and deep." So are the waters of Lake Michigan...and if Joe and Obama aren't careful, that's where they could wind up spending their retirement.

I don't know if the author got my memo from the last book, but this time around there's a lot more camp. Maybe it's because Obama's in more of the story this time? Can't go wrong with more bromance.

He Gave Me the Devil’s Own Smile

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage In Black, and Green-Eyed Demon, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Silver-Tongued Devil~
Sabina Kane
Book 4
By Jaye Wells
Amazon ~ Powell's

Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she's helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn't believe that peace is possible.

Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threatens to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill.


It's been a while since I was last in Sabina's world, but it took no time at all to ease myself back into their story and get hooked again.

Getting a Green Light from the Universe

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Red-Headed Stepchild & The Mage In Black, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Green-Eyed Demon~
Sabina Kane
Book 3
By Jaye Wells
Amazon ~ Powell's

Things to do:

1. Rescue sister.
2. Murder grandmother.
3. Don't upset the voodoo priestess.

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. Her sister has been kidnapped by her grandmother, the Dark Races are on the brink of war, and a mysterious order is manipulating everyone behind the scenes.

Working on information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks--a sexy mage named Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, a Mischief demon--head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and - perhaps most frightening of all - humans.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about most, she must save herself from the ghosts of her past.


I had a feeling I'd get to add a LGBT tag to one of these, and I was finally right! Absolutely LOVED Brooks as soon as he came on page. While arguably not a main character, Brooks and Giguhl's interactions were gold, and with my own sibling in a similar situation, I'm happy to add the tag. It didn't feel tacked on at all, as Brooks did play a major part in the story, and his history was nicely fleshed out. Overall, I wish Brooks could continue in the series...

Black With the Shadow of Fear

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Red-Headed Stepchild, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Mage in Black~
Sabina Kane
Book 2
By Jaye Wells
Amazon ~ Powell's

Sabina Kane doesn't have the best track record when it comes to family. After all, her own grandmother, the leader of the vampire race, just tried to kill her. When she arrives in New York to meet the mage side of her family, the reunion takes the fun out of dysfunctional.

On top of that, the Hekate Council wants to use her as a pawn in the brewing war against the vampires. Her mission will take her into the bowels of New York's Black Light district, entangles her in mage politics, and challenges her beliefs about the race she was raised to distrust. And Sabina thought vampires were bloodthirsty.


A nice, quick read following a tortuous series of ugh. You know, it's nice to be reading a book and actually enjoy what's going on. And it's another plus when the % complete ticker actually moves up at a decent pace. It took me 5 days to read this book, whereas the last took 5 months. And that book was YA!

All Vampires Have Red Hair

~Red-Headed Stepchild~
Sabina Kane
Book 1
By Jaye Wells
Amazon ~ Powell's

In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she's on. She's never brought her work home with her---until now.

This time, it's personal.


You know, I'd forgotten what it was like just to read something without analyzing it. I really didn't have to think about much of anything, just go with the flow. But then, kick-ass female protagonists in paranormal romance are kind of my fluff genre.

No More October Left to Play

~October Girls~
Crystal & Bone
By Scott Nicholson
Amazon

Momma warned her not to consort with the dead and tried to teach her the magic spells that would close the portal to the afterlife. But Crystal doesn’t want to be a trailer-trash witch like Momma. She has dreams of going to community college and escaping the Appalachian town of Parson’s Ford.

Her best friend Bone is only too happy to escape the afterlife and help Crystal break the rules. Bone died too young, and she’ll do whatever it takes to remain among the living.

Then a teen movie maker comes to Parson’s Ford, and he has a very special project in mind: a horror movie starring a real ghost. The kids who watch his movies turn into brainwashed zombies. And to totally complicate matters, Crystal thinks he’s kind of a hunk, and she’s afraid her boyfriend Pettigrew only loves her because of Momma’s magic spells.

Now it’s Halloween, the night when the portal to the afterlife is widest, and somebody’s been messing with Momma’s potions. The fate of the world is in Crystal’s hands, but she hasn’t been paying attention to her lessons. And a mysterious figure in the afterlife is urging Bone to stay loyal to her own kind instead of to Crystal.

The movie is rolling, the creatures are stirring, and the brainwashed teenagers are ready to welcome a new star from the other side of the grave.

Crystal and Bone must overcome drama queens, coffin cuties, and mangled magic if they want to remain best friends forever—but at this rate, forever may not last much longer.

While this claims to be the first of a series, there haven't been any installments in 8 years, so I'd consider it abandoned. And I can't say I blame it.

It Comes Out of Nowhere and Just Hits You

~Struck By Lightning~
The Carson Phillips Journal
By Chris Colfer
Amazon ~ Powell's

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal follows the story of outcast high school senior Carson Phillips, who blackmails the most popular students in his school into contributing to his literary journal to bolster his college application; his goal in life is to get into Northwestern and eventually become the editor of The New Yorker.

At once laugh-out-loud funny, deliciously dark, and remarkably smart, Struck By Lightning unearths the dirt that lies just below the surface of high school. At a time when bullying torments so many young people today, this unique and important novel sheds light with humor and wit on an issue that deeply resonates with countless teens and readers.


I'm still kinda in shock over the ending...not quite the resolution I was expecting...