Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
Author: Mindy Kaling
Publication Date: 11/1/11
Publisher: Crown Archetype

Blurb(GR):  Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

Review:
There’s a passage in this book in which Mindy Kaling laments that she will never be the kind of comedian who can get away with really raunchy humor or jokes about race.  (She cites Sarah Silverman and Dave Chappelle as examples.)  But, here is what she can get away with: writing a book chock-full of lists and stories all about how she’s basically (in her words) a “vain flake” and still coming across as a kind, intelligent woman and an excellent best friend.

I kind of wish that Mindy Kaling were my best friend.  She’d be the kind of friend who would call up on a Saturday night, and when you sheepishly admitted that you really didn’t feel like going out, would show up at your door wearing pj’s and laden down with fancy chocolates and champagne.  Then she would plop down on your couch and make absolutely no complaints when you wanted to watch a Say Yes to the Dress marathon.  She’s the kind of friend who would never shame you for loving (just as a few completely out-there random examples which have absolutely nothing at all to do with me) When Harry Met Sally (like, to the point where I you can recite every single line), or
Sixteen and Pregnant, or US Weekly, or cheddar cheese pretzels, or house music.

One of my favorite chapters in this book is entitled “Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities” and outlines a few of Mindy Kaling’s rules for BFF-dom:

“I MUST BE 100 PERCENT HONEST ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK, BUT GENTLE
Your boyfriend is never going to tell you that your skirt is too tight and riding up too high on you.  In fact, you shouldn’t even have asked him, poor guy.  He wants to have sex with you no matter how pudgy you are.  I am the only person besides your mom who has the right (and responsibility) to tell you that. I should never be overly harsh when something doesn’t look good on you, because I know you are fragile about this, and so am I.  I will employ the gentle, vague expression ‘I’m not crazy about that on you,’ which should mean to you ‘Holy shit, take that off, that looks terrible!’  I owe it to you to give feedback like a cattle prod: painful but quick.”

Mindy and I (I’m just going to go ahead and call her Mindy…because that’s what future best friends do) are also about the same age, and there is some excellent 90’s nostalgia porn in here.  In particular, I loved her list of favorite comedy moments (Chris Farley as Matt Foley = more evidence that we should be best friends) and her list of remakes that she’d like to take a crack at.  An all-girl remake of Ghostbusters?!!  I would totally go and see that, especially if they cast female comedians in all the main roles.

I didn’t enjoy the pieces about dieting and dating/commitment quite as much but overall I really had a fun time with this book.  This is a humorous memoir that also belongs alongside the fluffy/frothy books and I think that’s exactly what my little Min was really going for.  Well done!  (Call me later!)

Perfect Musical Pairing

Mariah Carey – We Belong Together

I may or may not love Mariah Carey with all my heart.  And I may or may not have seen Glitter more than once, possibly not even to make fun of it.
3/5 Stars

A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Publication Date: 2/8/11
Publisher: Viking Adult

Blurb(GR): A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.  Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break
its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

Review: This book kept me hanging on just enough to stop me from abandoning it. I’m not really sure who this book is aimed at; it’s a very pedestrian, traditional romance wrapped up in a nearly 600 page, painfully slow tale filled with history and science.  It’s a bit like a Hallmark card wrapped up in an encyclopedia.  The history and science buffs will be turned off by the cheesy center, and the romance lovers will resent having to wade through pages of endless description and detail just to get to the good stuff.  And speaking of “the good stuff” – there isn’t any.  If I am going to struggle my way through a sappy romance, the least I would expect is a good sex scene!

The female lead is Diana, who is a highly intelligent woman and well respected in her field.  She’s also the daughter of two powerful witches who were murdered when she was seven years old.  Traumatized by their deaths, she turns her back on magic and devotes her life to study.  When she accidentally pulls a heavily enchanted manuscript from the Bodleian library and is somehow able to open it, she draws the attention of the supernatural communities.  Matthew, a biochemist vampire with many secrets and motivations of his own, seeks out Diana to investigate.

The main thing that turns me off about this book is the cast of characters.  Matthew will be startlingly familiar to any reader of paranormal romance.  He’s a perfect physical specimen, with vast wealth (including several ancient homes which he built himself), a guilt-inducing past, and a tendency to be an overly protective, patronizing control freak.  He also likes to name drop famous historical figures that he’s known, drone on and on about wine and spout obnoxious lines like, “Will you never wait until I help you?”  And, despite being alive for 1,500 years, he apparently still thinks that women are incapable of feeding and clothing themselves or knowing when they’re tired (Don’t worry, he’ll  give you sedatives without your knowledge if you try to disagree).  He’s the kind of guy who says, “I might not be able to control myself if you step away” after a first kiss, then spends the rest of the book avoiding consummating the relationship, because “there’s plenty of time” even though at this point the characters have become very committed.  Diana is the otherwise intelligent woman who acts like a child whenever she’s in his presence.  She has to be bullied and bated into using her powers, and saved time and time again by Matthew.  Despite Matthew’s continual marveling about how powerful and strong she is, her strength is barely in evidence.

This book needs some serious trimming.  This author is clearly a very bright, intellectual woman and she has a ton of ideas.  I just wish she hadn’t put all of them in this one book.  She manages to cram in alchemy, paranormal groups, magic, evolution, mythology, medieval knights, politics, DNA testing, yoga, and wine tasting, not to mention time travel before this book is done.  There are also four chapters (out of about forty) that are written in third person following Matthew, instead of the first person (Diana) perspective that’s used for the rest of the book.  It’s as if she feels the need to show the reader absolutely everything that’s going on, everywhere.  This book would have been so much better if she had kept a few ideas in reserve.  Some of the topics, like the wine tasting and the yoga,
serve no purpose to the story, except perhaps to make Matthew seem even more pretentious.

I did enjoy much of the science and history, but there were too many niggling little scientific inaccuracies to keep me spellbound.  For instance, Matthew has apparently mapped the DNA of enough witches and other supernatural beings to be able to locate and identify markers of different magical powers, not to mention create a map of the different lineages of witch families.  However, he is somehow unable to use the same information to determine whether the different supernatural groups (witches, vampires, and daemons) are genetically related.  For all of the author’s vast intelligence, I’m not sure that she really understands evolution either.  I’m not one who typically nit-picks stories on the technical details, but this book is so agonizingly slow and the sappy romance is such a turn off for me – I found myself focusing on the little details more and more.

This book is absolutely not for me.  However, if you are an intellectual person with a love of sweet, "courtly love" type romances, and macho-man heroes, then I think you might like this one.
 2/5 Stars

Working Stiff (Revivalist, #1)
Author: Rachel Caine
Publication Date: 8/2/11
Publisher: Roc

Blurb (GR): Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice.

Wit the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead...

Review:
There are some kindred spirits working at TNT/TBS/USA who choose which movies to show regularly on the weekends. It's like they somehow know that I will ALWAYS watch Overboard, What About Bob?, Hook, Father of the Bride, and about a billion other movies--and there must be tons more people just like me that regularly think about dressing up as Bob Wiley for Halloween every year because why else would they be showing the same movies unless people are watching them?  Death Becomes Her, which you may or may not remember as MY FAVORITE MERYL STREEP MOVIE EVER EVEN INCLUDING HER MANY AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCES, is always on basic cable on the weekends...and I pretty much know it by heart. It is just so bizarre, I mean, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, and Isabella Rossellini in a movie about two women dueling over a balding mortician and then taking a potion to life forever? That's pure cinematic gold. I saw Rachel Caine at an event last weekend and you can't really tell by looking at someone but I'm pretty sure she also likes Death Becomes Her. Evidence:

_I haven't fully signed on for the new zombie love story trend in books and I'm sure many people would try to argue with me about the main character in this book not being a zombie, so here's a quick two-question quiz to find out if you are a zombie:

Question 1: Did you die at some point? If yes, move on to question 2. If no, congratulations! You are alive!
Question 2: Are you somehow still walking around and "living" to a varying degree? If yes, congratulations (?), you are a zombie!

Some people might say that you need to be craving brains to be a zombie. Then again, some people think bands like Nickelback and Creed make good music. Bryn, the MC of this book, dies and is subsequently revived by a chemical compound that must be taken daily to maintain her zombie, oops, I mean revived person's body. I know what you're thinking here--that's hot. You totally would be attracted to an animated, walking, talking, thinking corpse, right? Wait...something's not right here. We had a discussion at book club about whether or not the romantic element in this book was off-putting and it totally was to me BUT it is mostly for one reason and surprisingly, it isn't because Bryn is revived. Patrick sees her die. He sees her as a dead body. He sees her beat up, shot, and basically mangled and then sees her tissue regrowing in front of him. Um, that's gross. That is a constant reminder that the person you are looking at is artificially alive. Necrophilia is so in right now. I couldn't truly get on board with it in this particular book but she does basically live a normal life so I'm not ruling out romance with some future guy who doesn't know she's dead (SPOILER ALERT FOR HIM! "Hey, I've been meaning to tell you...I can't have kids." "Oh, is it something genetic?" "Meh, actually I'm a reanimated corpse. No biggie.")

Overall, the mystery and intrigue were entertaining and the series started off with enough world-building and quirky characters that I'll come back for more. (*cough*some of the side characters are more interesting than the main girl*cough*) Since Bryn was in the military, I expected much more badassery to be happening but she gets punched out pretty regularly. Perhaps she'll really come into her zombie self in future Revivalist series books? Until then, you can most likely find me watching What About Bob? on repeat...

3/5 stars

Masked Pleasures
Authors: Michael M. Jones, Anya Levin, Victoria Pond, and Brandi Guthrie. Edited by Jennifer Levine
Publication Date: 2/27/11
Publisher: Circlet Press, Inc.

Blurb (GR): This anthology of erotic fantasy features stories inspired by the cover photo. Writers were challenged to use the photo as their muse or inspiration and to let their imagination take over from there. The result is a collection of stories at once nostalgic and looking toward the future, finished off with a dash of hope and a sprinkle of romance.

Everyone knows the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words." But what if the picture begs for more than a thousand words? This anthology features stories that were inspired by the cover photo. Writers were challenged to use the photo as their muse or inspiration and to let their imagination take over from there. The result is a collection of stories at once nostalgic and looking toward the future, finished off with a dash of hope and a sprinkle of romance.

Michael M. Jones's "Devil's Masquerade" takes us through an erotic masquerade filled with disguised nobles, following the lovers Agents Starling and Grace as they search for a rogue sex demon; Brandi Guthrie's "The Seer's Mask" lets us into the mind of Gadeah, a powerful seer tormented by the lack of meaningful love in her life; Victoria Pond's "Heir Apparent" tells of His Lady Highness, a princess forced into playing the role of a knight after both her brother and husband are killed, who discovers a long-lost loved one hidden in a tower far away; and Anya Levin's "An Unusual Legacy" explores a futuristic world in which a group of rebels creates Freedom, an invitation-only chance to temporarily experience life without the constant informative babble of the identification interface.

Through this compilation of stories, editor Jennifer Levine has once again given readers the chance to get to know an interesting variety of characters, desires, and circumstances, proving that a picture really can be worth much more than a thousand words.

Contents:
Devil's Masquerade by Michael M. Jones
The Seer's Mask by Brandi Guthrie
Heir Apparent by Victoria Pond
An Unusual Legacy by Anya Levin

Review:
Devil’s Masquerade by Michael M. Jones--

Writing - 4/5
Story - 3/5
Spiciness - 2/5

In this short story, two undercover ducal agents are infiltrating a Devil’s Masquerade evening where the highest echelon of society gathers to engage in a night of debauchery. An incubus or succubus has been sighted in the area and the two agents are tasked to weed the demon out of the crowd, because everyone knows a sex demon can’t say no to a night of zero inhibitions. I don’t want to spoil the seksy times but I was surprised that it was lady on lady action. I’m glad to see this story being written but it did absolutely nothing for my nether regions. (Erm, awkwardness) Continuing with the awkwardness, I find the idea of orgies fascinating. How people can just let go completely and then, presumably, return to their everyday lives I may never know. What if you saw the person you caroused with somewhere random? Also, I’ve always wanted to go to a masquerade ball. Sometimes I think that if I ever get married, it would be pretty sweet to have a masquerade ball wedding…then I realize that I hate that kind of stuff (themed weddings) and I’d hate myself a little bit for doing something like that. I’d better settle on a masquerade ball-themed New Year’s Eve party and cross it off my bucket list. (which I also don’t have)

Michael M. Jones is skilled enough in his writing. I’m sometimes wary of ebook releases but there were absolutely no editing errors that drove me up the wall which was refreshing and I quite liked Jones’ style. My only gripe—there seemed to be waaaay too much silk flowing around curves and between legs and, well, everywhere. I mean, I like silk as much as the next girl…actually, maybe I don’t.

The Seer’s Mask by Brandi Guthrie

Writing - 3/5
Story - 3/5
Spiciness - 3/5

The Seer’s Mask is about, wait for it, a seer that places irremovable masks on prisoners of war. Gadeah, the seer in question, is head of a group of Sisters who rule the kingdom and Aamir is a sexy POW who I picture to look like Khal Drogo (HOT). Anyway, Aamir wears the seer’s mask and he is relegated to be Gadeah’s sexual slave, though she has never utilized his services despite her impotent consort. Guess what? Not fo long, bitches. This story takes place almost exclusively in the bedroom and I totally would’ve given it 4 stars in the spiciness department if it weren’t for a few sentences that had to do with areolae and sacs…ew. Buzz Killington.

Short stories are hard for me because I always want more of everything—character development, plot, description, and that is just not possible. Especially in the case of an erotica anthology where the authors have to include sex scenes in their short page allotment. I think this story of Ms. Guthrie’s could easily be elaborated into a longer novella or inserted into a full-length novel and I would read it. Just less mentions of those aforementioned words, please!

Heir Apparent by Victoria Pond

Writing - 4/5
Story - 3/5
Spiciness - 3/5

Heir Apparent feels like a short story written in a well-established fantasy realm. Margaret, heir to the throne since the death of her brother and husband, is sent on a soothsayer’s quest to find one whom she believed to be lost forever and, since this is part of an erotica anthology, I think we all know what she finds at the end of her quest. The writing was fluid and I enjoyed the fact that there was more dialogue and a sense of humor inserted into this story. I was/am skeptical about some aspects of the story (climbing a tower in full armor? I don’t think that is possible. ) However, I was invested in this story’s characters more so than in the preceding stories—I only wish there was, and excuse the pun (or don’t), more completion in the sex department. As it is, it is a bit unfulfilling.

My only other minor annoyance was about how/why he was in the tower. Unanswered questions abound but I guess it is a good sign that I enjoyed it enough to want to know the answers. This is the perfect time to fess up that I know the author of this short story. Also that I will saturate her with wine at the next book club until she answers ALL the questions for me. Bwahahahaha.

An Unusual Legacy by Anya Levin

Writing - 3/5
Story - 2.5/5
Spiciness - 4.5/5

Oo-ee, voyeurism and sex with a stranger? Obviously, this is one hot little story. However, I had to reread the first two pages three times before I resigned myself to having no clue what was going on. Maybe it is because I was reading it in the middle of the night or perhaps I am an idiot? Hopefully it is the former, otherwise I should probably give my degrees back. Anyway, this one kind of reads like The Matrix except when the main character takes the red pill and goes down the rabbit hole, it is sexy time with strangers and Laurence Fishburne isn’t there telling her what to do. This story was rather frustrating because I loathed the setup, loved the middle, and thought the ending was interesting if still a little bit confusing. I’d love to blurb the plot but I would probably muddle it up--how depressing is that? Either way, I wish Ms. Levin would’ve just simplified it, taken out the entire Jenny/Leonie love backstory and proceeded with a standard VR-type storyline.


Overall, I thought this anthology was well done. The editing was fabulous and I didn’t find any errors—a wonder in the ebook world! (Seriously, I find errors in my Kindle books all the time—even the ones with major releases.) All four stories were entertaining and varied enough to keep my interest. I only wonder who the primary audience is for the book—it seems like there is something for everyone and that is a risky move to take. Being something for everyone almost necessarily means that a lot of the book might not appeal to each reader. Regardless, it is worth its $3.99 price tag and I’d definitely read more from each of the authors. It was interesting to see how the prompt picture inspired their stories and if any readers know of any more good picture prompted anthologies, rec them to me because I enjoyed the idea.

Call Me Irresistible (Wynette, Texas, #6)
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: 1/18/11
Publisher: William Morrow

Blurb (GR): R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . .

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.

Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.

One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

Review:
I had book club on Saturday and we talked about the different types of readers and how what you read affects your ratings and reviews on Goodreads. If you are a heavy enough GR user, you know who the people are in every group— It’s funny to read the reviews of romance books that primarily lit fic readers write. It’s also funny to read the reviews of, well, more complicated reads done by people who do not usually venture into those realms. That’s why I am a fan of Vinaya’s “comparative 5 stars” shelf…but not enough of a fan to go through all my books and change all my ratings. At least for me, there are some books that I rate 4 or 5 stars that might not get the same rating when compared to books in other genres but that definitely stand out amongst their direct competitors. However, there are obviously always those that will hold their own against even the most nitpicky readers. Anyway, I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips books. Compared to other books in her genre, she is consistent in her plotwork and writing. I know that I will laugh at her jokes, fall for several characters (not necessarily in a romantic sense, just that I root for them) and get some reassurances that I’ll be able to figure everything out in my life, like why I can never figure out a third item for lists I write.

This book might not appeal to those who haven’t read and enjoyed other SEP books, specifically Fancy Pants (Gah, that title, I know) and Lady Be Good. Her series books tend to be massively self-referential, which can be enjoyable if you remember all the characters and storylines from her other books but I think it might/probably would hinder the enjoyment of those who are unfamiliar with her earlier work. Characters also show up from Glitter Baby, What I Did For Love, and First Lady. Another point we discussed at book club was whether or not we enjoyed authors who set several books in the same world despite them not really being a series. (In case anyone is wondering, our book club pick was The Windup Girl, whose author has written several other stories in the same world.) Feelings ran the gamut from love to author laziness. In the case of romance series, I appreciate the little glimpses we get into the lives of characters after their particular romantic stories have been told, but sometimes I get sick of reading about the “couple that is still head over heels who are still having wild sex and have several perfect children and perfect lives.” (*cough*Nora Roberts *cough*)This book was a little too heavy on the "Look! Those other characters are still in love!" but I still loved reading about Ted and Meg falling for each other.

The story in Call Me Irresistible felt (maybe too) similar to Ain’t She Sweet. Main female character that people believe is too entitled? Check. Made to work at a job that might be considered beneath her but she scrapes by and maintains her dignity and honor? Check. And she is ridiculed and made to feel unwelcome by the townspeople? Check. While the male romantic interest is a guy whose life she arguably ruined? Check. He treats her like dirt? Check. Until they fall in love? Check. Uh oh.

But I gave it four stars! (on Goodreads' 5 star scale, 7/10 here) That’s right, and I am sticking to my guns. I don’t care that it wasn’t very original. All I care about is that when I laid in my bed to go to sleep and picked this book up, I didn’t put it down until it was done.

Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, #4)
Author: Chloe Neill
Published: 5/3/11
Publisher: NAL Trade

Blurb (GR): Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals--and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are ... tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world full of vampires who seem too ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

Review:
Holy curveball, Batman! As I was nearing the end of this book, I kept thinking, “Oh, I totally know what the crazy jawdropper at the end of this book is going to be. Come on people, duhhh” as I paged through the windup. NOPE, it turns out this book just wiped that smug look off my face. I will put spoilers in this review where spoilers are due but LISTEN UP, COMPULSIVE SPOILER CLICKERS/READERS!! If you click on the spoilers and intend to read this book, you might as well get a Flannery-shaped voodoo doll so you can stick it with pins because I will have totally ruined your reading experience. You heard it here first.

So anyway, if you have been following this series, you might want to reread Twice Bitten before reading this one. There is a rather large cast of characters in this series and while I remembered the names for the most part, I couldn’t completely remember everyone’s history and their personalities…of course, that could have something to do with me frantically reading all three published books in two days around Christmastime. Either way, I bet your enjoyment would be greatly increased if you didn’t have the memory jogging to do. As it is, this book picks up almost directly after the ending of its predecessor. (obviously I can’t recount that ending as it is a huge spoiler)

The writing is consistent with other installments of the series, which is pretty refreshing considering how other series I read have been increasingly disappointing or just feel like filler. While they all have airs of political feuds in them, the theme is much more present in this one and I wasn’t the hugest fan. I mean, let’s be honest here. Are we in the cone of silence? Okay, we all know one of the biggest, if not THE biggest reason we read series like this is for all the hot guys and *fingers crossed* sexy times. I’ll read about power struggles or solving mysteries but for a series like this one, I’m always hoping for some hotness. Aaaaand , this one is sadly light on it. As it is on Mallory and Catcher, whom I’ve come to really enjoy. I felt like their storyline was rather unnecessary to the overall book and it felt like they were there only to provide readers the reminder that they are, in fact, huge characters in the series. Did anyone else feel this way? Maybe it was just me. It was just too much power struggle and not enough fun, friendships, romance, etc. There was ass-kicking, though, which is always great.

I am rather embarrassingly in love with the idea of vampire Houses and the whole fraternity/sorority feel of all the different Chicagoland (and otherwise) groups of vampires. While reading, I daydream about what kind of house would be the coolest to be a part of—then I push up my metaphorical nerd glasses and wonder how it is I even have any friends:) Anyway, other books in the series gave us an understanding of the Cadogan (obviously) and Navarre houses, but this one lets us in on Grey House and I have to say, it sounds pretty choice. I’d definitely want to be hanging out with them in their sweet pad.

And then come my annoyances:

***SPOILER ALERT***

You know that love interest? That guy you’ve been rooting for for several books? The one who has super sexy awesomeness with Merit in the last book? Well, Chloe Neill brings him out of nowhere into a fight in the last 10 pages and then stakes him a few sentences later. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? I’m not going to say I’m annoyed that he was killed—it’s okay with me. I’m excited to see where the series will go from here--I’m just a bit disappointed at the execution and how much was done in the last 15 or so pages. And speaking of that, her dad is such an asshole! As is Darius. I wish characters had less of that stuff, what do you call them? Oh, morals. I wish someone would’ve just staked that bastard and Celina from the get-go. Jeez, where are the vigilantes when you need them? ;-) Also, Morgan is hot but a douche, and Jonah’s room sounds awesome. I’d hit that.

***END SPOILERS***

All in all, I still really enjoyed this one. Fun times in Chicagoland!