Halfway to the Grave Book Review

People who love to read paranormal: if you have not read it already, I would like to introduce you to Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave.

Take a tough, no-nonsense heroine with a taste for vengeance. Add a dark and moody hero with a (sexy, sexy, sexy) British accent. Sprinkle with high-action fight scenes and terrifying bad guys. Add a dash of interfering human law enforcement. Mix thoroughly.

Cat Crawfield is half-human, half-vampire (roll with it). Think of her as a regular person with the strength and abilities to take down a vampire - and the desire to take down every vampire until she finds her father (aka the man who raped her mother).

One night, Cat meets her match. A vampire bounty hunter named Bones. She tries to kill him, he takes her prisoner * insert battle royale here * she loses and as a result is commissioned to train with and work for him. The world he introduces her to is far different from her past life of indiscriminately taking down (weaker) vampires.

The story is fast-paced with a great plot, interesting characters and enough sexual tension to make a bad (or good) girl blush.

My final assessment:

ROWR

Soulless Book Review

Hang onto your bustles: Alexia Tarabotti's in town.

In Gail Carriger's Soulless, Alexia Tarabotti is a preturnatural. What's that, you say? A being whose touch can cancel out a vampire or werewolf, making them human so long as she maintains contact.

This book takes us back to an earlier time where all living beings, supernatural or otherwise, are held to the social mores of London society. A simpler time. Or so it would seem...

Despite appearances, not all are pleased with the status quo. What those eager for change are willing to do places Alexia right in the middle of trouble. Lucky for her (and us), Alexia is not the kind of woman to sit idle while others try to snack on her, etc. I don't know if she has a motto or not, but I have a suggestion:

When in doubt, bring a parasol.

How should this book be classified?

Well, you could put this book in a box, but it would have to be octopus-shaped. Is it a fantasy? Is it a romance? Is it a mystery? Is it a paranormal? Is it a historical? Is it steampunk? Is there tea? Is it hilarious?

Yes.

(ps-What's steampunk? Think Wild Wild West)

This story came to a satisfying end, but left enough dangling threads for me to need to read the next book in the series, Changeless (I should say want. I need to read it, but even if I didn't, I would still want to).

(ps#2-Looking for a good kissing scene? This book should come with a warning.)

Have you read the book already? If so, tell me what you thought about it.

Feeling up for some fun? Check out this online dress-up doll (click here). I don't envy her the layers at all.

In the mood for some book cover déjà vu? Check out this online store (click here). They even have a special parasol made in Alexia's honour (click here).

Beauty in Writing

For whatever reason, I have begun writing these stories (begun as in I've been doing it for a few years now). Stories about mermaids, mermen, sirens, finns, mers, whatever you want to call them, that is what I am writing. What does one call them? The more definitively I think about them, the more questions I raise. I think one of the main starting points for me is in every story, the description never quite makes sense.

Why does a mammal have scales? / Why does a fish have hair?
How do they breathe?
Do they have gills? - this would only apply if they are officially fish
Do they come up for air periodically, like a dolphin or whale?

What, officially, is the mermaid genre? Is there really a mermaid genre or are they lumped in with all shape-shifters?

There are a few common themes among mermaid tales - vanity (poems, especially), singing, sailors - but the major focus is their beauty, more specifically, lengthy descriptions of their glorious tails. So many of these stories seem reminiscent of The Little Mermaid (which I love, but I need variety in my life!).

Generally, part of the conflict involves legs vs tail, often involving a decision to change who they are to be with a love interest. This either says something about how special the love interest is or about the poor decision-making skills of the mer(maid / man).

Are people unable to relate to a beautiful creature wishing it was plain? I can't recall the last time I thought, "I wish I could be plain, instead of my extraordinary self," or felt sorry for someone who said that (not that I ever heard it).

In vampire stories, there are generally a few common themes - blood, sun, strength, immortality - and they focus on a mortal and try to protect them (usually successfully, but not always)... or eat them.

Do we identify better with a creature that is a husk of its former self, hungering for a part of its old life? A part of itself lost due to a bad choice? Who can't relate to action-based consequences?

In both however, I see a longing for humanity. A need to belong.

I think there is something more to mermaids than combs and mirrors and waiting for a ship of sailors to wreck on the rocks. I think there is something to be said about basing our opinions of another solely as a result of appearance.

After all, what is beauty? Can it be defined by a hair length, a specific symmetry of features? Are there age restrictions? Or is it something we can smell, hear, taste? Does one need daylight to know someone is attractive. If you can't see beauty in the dark, is it there at all?

There are so many questions swimming around in my head.

I can't stop thinking about mermaids.