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...