A Time Out

Hey all! 

Well...

The little presentation of my two genres went over pretty well ( or at least I think they did ). But now its final time. I HATE finals...who doesn't? The stress, the business, the total lack of sleep...well you get the picture. Anyhow... I'm taking a blogging break. Till after finals are over.

I'm not abandoning my blogs; I just probably won't post for a good three weeks.

So..

See ya all then.

Other Urban Fantasy Books By Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson Series:

Alpha and Omega Series:

This is series is set in the same Urban Fantasy World as the Mercy Thompson series. It is actually based off some side characters in the Mercy books.

My Second Urban Fantasy Book Review

Welcome to Patricia Brigg's world, a place where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape shifters live beside ordinary people" (Booklist). It takes a very unusual women to call it home - and there's no one quite like Mercy.

Coyote shifter Mercy Thompson know that life with her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will never be boring, but even their wedding doesn't go as planned. Nevertheless, a ten-day honeymoon camping on the backs of the Columbia River, alone, just the two of them, should make up for it. But the trip - and the pimped-out trailer they're using - is courtesy of the fae. And nothing from the fae comes without strings attached...

Being a different breed of shifter - a walker - Mercy can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long gone father has never visited her. Until now. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River - and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil...

This is the 6th book in Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series and I happily give it 4 stars.

One of the things that sets Patricia Briggs apart from her fellow authors is her use of Native American legend and how she mixes it with classic Urban Fantasy elements. Her books are fun, fast paced, and full of emotion. She has a great written voice that expresses her characters perfectly. The realistic way she writes shifters ( and were ) are chock full of animal body language and instincts.

This series is my favorite series that prominently features were and shape shifters. If you haven't read Patricia Briggs I highly suggest her books.

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK ( ASSUMING YOUR PLANING ON IT )

Mercy is finally getting married to her handsome werewolf alpha. While I've been looking forward to the relationship coming to this obvious conclusion, I was a bit worried for the story. I thought that the marriage may make the story a bit stale, that without the tensions of their tentative relationship, verses the now verified one, we'd lose an important element of the story. I am happy to say I was wrong.

The conclusion of a rocky relationship into a contented marriage actually left the story open to go into a new direction. I don't mean that they've stopped fighting whatever evil happens to come along, or in particular, whatever evil manages to find Mercy and throw their stupid, trouble loving selves under her paws ( you'd think all bad guys would be warned to stay out of her way...considering her track record). But it left it open to bring in a bit more about her Native American background. 

Both the readers and the main character herself learn a great deal about her heritage and what she actually is. I thought it was great to bring this aspect to the story and am looking forward to finding out even more about her background as she continues on in her journeys.  

Supernatural; An Urban Fantasy TV Show

Because I've been talking about the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman I have an urge to mention the TV show Supernatural. As far as I know they aren't actually connected in any way but in many ways their main characters remind me of each other.

Everybody know about Supernatural ( even if you don't watch it). I watched it faithfully for years until recently. It's getting a little too much lately, even for me. So now I only watch a show here and there when I have a moment.

For you poor, poor people who have never heard of this series let me give you a very brief outline...

Two brothers were raised by their dad after their mother was killed by a demon. He left at some point to hunt demons and other monsters leaving the boys to grow into the same career choice. Eventually they did it just to try to find their dad, who ended up dying, and then to stop the devil from causing doomsday. ( There were other minor reasons in-between those two but I figured those were the most important.)  

Personally I like the humorous episodes. Like the one where they found out some guy was writing comics about their lives and that they had a fan base.  It was season 4 episode 18 The Monster at the end of this Book.

Other Urban Fantasy Books by Rob Thurman

Cal Leandros Series:

Trickster Series:

This series is set in the same Urban Fantasy version of the world as the Cal Leandros Series.

Chimera Series:

My First Urban Fantasy Book Review

 

I was alone, and I was lost. I didn’t know where I was; I didn’t know who I was. It doesn’t get more lost than that. Knowing what I knew and not knowing anything else at all, why would I want to be in the darkness where monsters hide?

Because killers hide there, too…

Half-human Cal Leandros has always walked a bloody line between keeping his mortal soul free and clear (sort of) and unleashing the horror of his otherworldly heritage. The one thing that’s always saved him is the memory of his brother, Niko, his friends, and those he loves… until now.

Cal wakes up on a beach littered with the recently slaughtered remains of a variety of hideous creatures that were obviously looking for trouble. The fact that he was the one doing the slaughtering doesn’t bother him. The fact that he feels like a natural-born killer doesn’t either. What bothers him is that Cal doesn’t remember Cal anymore…and he’s not sure he cares

This is the 6th and most recent book in the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman and I am more than happy to give this book 5 Stars!

Rob Thurman is a fantastic author and I am proud to say I have all of her books. Her style jumps off the pages and grabs you by the back of the neck to literally drag you into the exciting world of her imagination. She exhibits an engaging and powerful ability to story tell that makes you stay up long past your bedtime with her book glued to your hand. Her words are strong, emotionally charged, and action packed. Everything I could want in a perfect read. 

If you haven't read any of her books I would highly suggest getting familiar with them.

This book was no disappointment. It was well written, happily carrying the sarcastic tone of her main character throughout the novel. ( A tone which I love and which she tends to exhibit in all of her books.) It had plenty of action and emotional turmoil.

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK ( ASSUMING YOUR PLANING ON IT )

This book starts with a jolting surprise for all of us faithful readers. The main character; Cal, wakes up alone ( not counting the bodies of the monsters he killed) on the beach with no clue who or WHAT he is. I have to say for a few brief moments I just stared at the book wondering where Rob Thurman was going to take it from here.  Cal had no clue who he was or what he could do, Niko wasn't with him ( not to mention he wouldn't know his brother if the guy slapped him in the face ). I was a little stunned...and well...a touch worried. I had a small doubt that this would take the story out of its normal "feel". So I did the only thing I could do; I kept reading.

I am happy to say that the abrupt shift in the beginning of the story only added to the plot of the overall series. It opened it up to a whole new world of possibilities for the characters and the way they express themselves.

It was interesting to watch Cal relearn and rebuild his life step by step. It was fun to see what he would be like ( in his thinking process and morals) if he was fully human. But all in all I was relieved when he found his Auphe side again. I was starting to miss the original Cal and would have been very unhappy if he stayed without his memories. (I'm sure Niko and Robin would have been rather unhappy as well.)

I have to say my absolute favorite part of the book was when Cal "rescued" the mummy cats and gave them to Robin. It was hilarious ( and vicious) and I could really visualize the destruction they caused to his apartment ( not to mention his wardrobe ).

Like usual they win in the end; destroying the bad guy (or in this case girl ). However there is a little twist at the end that really makes you think and leaves things open to go in a new direction. For some reason even though I knew Cal was a half breed I didn't think of there being others like him. It was a great way to end and even though he killed ( perhaps put down is a better term ) his "brothers and sisters", it leaves me thinking about what ( or who ) else is out there.