My Top 5 Urban Fantasy Novels of 2011

Well, I can’t believe it’s been almost a week and a half since my last post. Time flies when you’re having fun… or grading and doing academic writing. (sigh) Anyway, I’ve been seeing lots of fun Top 5 lists, but some of them have left off my favorites. How dare they have opinions that differ from mine, lol! Here are my Top 5 Urban Fantasies of this year, not in any order.

Diana Rowland’s My Life as a White Trash Zombie

Okay, I might have lied when I said these were in no particular order, because this is definitely my favorite book on this list and not just because of its rockin’ cover by Daniel Dos Santos. Angel Crawford finds herself working in a morgue and drinking funny tasting “smoothies” after she’s discovered on the side of the road, naked and covered in blood. To her horror, she finds the scent of braaaaiiiiiins delectable and soon discovers that she’s been made a zombie. This is a great story of a young woman who’s had very few opportunities in her life suddenly making the most of a second chance at life. I can’t wait to read the second book of the series, coming out next summer. See my review.

Jenn Bennett Kindling the Moon

This debut novel was a fun surprise, and I do mean surprise! After a lifetime of reading who knows how many novels, it was a delight to find one that managed to sneak in an ending that I wasn’t expecting. Arcadia “Cady” Bell is 25 and working at the Tambuku Tiki Lounge when she spots her on-the-run parents on the nightly news. They were accused of heinous murders when she was a teen, and the family’s been living in hiding ever since. Cady finds herself working to clear her parents with lots of help from hottie Lon Butler. Their May-December romance (he’s 42) is sizzling, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Lon’s son, Jupe, who’s a real scene-stealer.

Seanan McGuire One Salt Sea (October Daye #5)

I could have chosen either of the October Daye books published this year (the 4^th in the series is Late Eclipses) for my top 5 list because both are excellent, but One Salt Sea introduces a new part of Faerie that we haven’t seen before. This series never disappoints, and Toby finds herself working with the usual suspects to prevent a war between the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist and the Queen of Mist. While you can read this book without having read any of the prior novels in the series, I highly recommend that you start from the beginning, as you’ll appreciate the interaction between the characters more. See my review.

Nancy Holzner Bloodstone (Deadtown #3)

I started the Deadtown series earlier this year, and while I enjoyed the first book in the series, I never got around to picking up the second book. I was really impressed with Bloodstone, though, so I’ll be going back to catch up on the second book. When a virus turned thousands of humans into zombies, the magical community came out of hiding to help contain the threat, only to be forced into segregation. Shifter Vicky is a demon exterminator in this alternate version of Boston, and in the third book of the series, she finds herself fighting a serial killer, dubbed the SouthEnd Reaper by the police. Vicky’s feisty Aunt Mab plays a key role in the action, and it’s a lot of fun to see Vicky’s teenage zombie sidekick, Tina, start to mature.

Ilona Andrews Magic Slays (Kate Daniels #5)

I’d be shocked if other bloggers did NOT include this book on their top 5 lists of Urban Fantasies this year. Set in an alternate version of my hometown, Atlanta, all of the Kate Daniels books pretty much kick ass, so you’re going to get a winner whether you start the series at the beginning or pick this one up on its own. In this book we finally get to see sword-wielding Kate and her lion-shifter mate Curran in connubial bliss, which makes for some funny one-liners. When Kate’s detective agency is asked to find a missing scientist, all sorts of magical mayhem ensues. Watching the independent heroine and bossy-pants alpha hero sort out how they’ll deal with their roles in this new relationship makes the book all that more fun.

Early Review of Angels of Darkness Anthology

Title: Angels of Darkness

Author: Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, Sharon Shinn

Publisher: Berkley Sensation 

Formats: Trade Paperback & Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I totally lucked out at the local Barnes & Noble again this weekend and scored an early copy of the upcoming anthology, Angels of Darkness. This book includes novellas by three of my all-time favorite authors, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook, so I was really excited to find it early. It features outstanding writing, which I’ve come to expect from these authors, and I was pleasantly surprised by Sharon Shinn’s novella Nocturne, which is my favorite of the collection. I hadn’t read anything by her before, but I will be remedying that shortly. Here’s a breakdown of the novellas in the book.

Angel’s Wolf by Nalini Singh. This novella is set in the world of Singh’s Guild Hunter series and stars vampire Noel, who was viciously beaten by an enemy of Archangel Raphael in the second novel of the series, Archangel’s Kiss. Now that Noel’s recovered, he’s been assigned to the court of angel Nimra in Louisiana, which he initially believes reflects Raphael’s diminished opinion of his abilities. He soon learns otherwise, as he’s there to investigate an assassination attempt against Nimra. While I enjoyed another glimpse into the Guild Hunter world, I was a bit disappointed by this novella, mainly because it was so short. I like seeing what happened to Noel, but because it was shorter than the other novellas, the romance between Noel and Nimra felt a bit short-changed. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the angel and the vampire, and the mystery was resolved too quickly. 3 out of 5

Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews. This story was so different from Ilona Andrews’ other writing that I was a bit taken aback and not sure how to react to the story. It also didn’t compare favorably to their recently released enovella Silver Shark, which I just reviewed yesterday. Alphas: Origins is set in a world very different from any of the author’s other series, and at times I was a little confused about what was going on. The heroine, Karina, is driving her daughter and several other children on a school field trip when they stop at a motel so the kids can use the bathroom. Unfortunately for Karina, the “people” at the motel attack them, and Karina wakes up after the attack to learn that she’s now part of a world she never knew existed. The hormones in her blood will be used to feed Lucas, one of four alpha men who are warriors protecting humanity in a strange fight against a group of genetically altered humans. The story definitely improves as you read, because Karina is a strong and sympathetic character, but the first few chapters were confusing and none of the male characters particularly likeable. 3 out of 5

Nocturne by Sharon Shinn. I had never read any of Shinn’s work before, but I very much enjoyed this novella about a woman on the run who discovers an angel at the school where she’s working. This is set in the world of her Samaria series and takes place about 70 years after the first book in the series, Archangel. Moriah works the late shift in the kitchen at the school, and when she learns that no one is allowed to go inside the headmistress’s house, her curiosity is piqued. When the headmistress leaves for two weeks and the housekeeper sprains her ankle, Moriah steps in to help serve the guest on the upper floor. Turns out that the guess is Corban, a angel who’s been blinded and is feeling lots of self-pity for his condition. Moriah’s bracing character is more than a match for his depression, however, and soon he finds himself stretching his wings literally and figuratively. There’s a slow build to this story, but this was easily my favorite of the collection, and I’ll be looking for more of Ms. Shinn’s work. 4 out of 5

Ascension by Meljean Brook. This novella is set in the world of Brook’s Guardian series. I’ve read several of the novels and a few of the novellas, so I have a general idea of the background, even though I wasn’t familiar with these characters. I’m not sure how easily one could pick up details about the Guardians without having read another book in the series, so you might want to keep that in mind. That said, I did enjoy this novella. Like Singh’s novella, this is one of the shorter entries, but I felt that it was more fleshed out than Angel’s Wolf. Guardian Marc Revoire is investigating the deaths of several vampires in town, when he’s joined by former lover Radha. They had a hot and steamy night a LONG time ago, but she took off and he never knew why. Turns out he was a little too holier than thou and referred to her as “unclean” when praying for redemption after falling into temptation, which not surprisingly ticked her off. Fortunately, he’s more low key and less judgmental now, so the sparks fly between the two again. In the meantime, they solve the mystery behind who’s killing off the local vamps. While I like Ms. Brook’s writing, I really didn’t like Radha all that much, which diminished my enjoyment of the story. 3.5 out of 5

Review of Ilona Andrew's Silver Shark

Title: Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2)

Author: Ilona Andrews

Publisher: NYLA       

Formats: E-novella

Source: Won from Author

Publication Date: September 14, 2011

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The writing duo that is Ilona Andrews could publish their grocery list, and I’d probably buy it. Of course, the reason I feel that way is because everything they write is stellar, and their newest release, the novella Silver Shark, is no exception. Back when I first started reading their Kate Daniels series, I went online and purchased all of their books, including the novella Silent Blade, which is the first in the Kinsmen series. I loved it, but it’s set outside the Kate Daniels world, so I figured this was a one-off and that was it. I was thrilled to learn that they were writing a sequel novella, and when they sponsored a giveaway on their blog, I and about 500 of their closest friends (heh heh) signed up. When the deadline passed and I hadn’t heard from them, I went ahead and paid the $2.99 for the novella at Amazon and devoured it, only to check my email and learn I’d won a copy. Oops. I don’t feel too bad about the 3 dollars, though, as it’s a great novella, and I can’t recommend it enough!

The world of the Kinsmen is very much sci-fi, which is not my favorite genre, but I really enjoy both the storytelling and the romance of this novella. Claire Shannon is a psycher, someone who can use telepathy to attack others’ minds. She lives on a grim mining planet fought over by two mining conglomerates. When the conglomerate she fights for is defeated, she pretends to be a civilian and is deported to Rada, a merchant planet that is run by kinsmen, which are mafia-type family organizations with psychic abilities. Claire’s hired to work as an administrative assistant for Guardian, Inc., a bionet (think psychic internet) security firm run by the Escana family. She becomes the personal assistant to Venturo Escana, owner, CEO, and a very powerful psycher. The two are clearly attracted to one another, but Claire’s psycher abilities must remain secret, or she’ll be returned to her home planet, which means certain death. When she’s approached by fellow refugees for help, she has to infiltrate the bionet, placing her new future in danger.

This novella is outstanding, thanks in large part to the world building. Clare’s home planet of Uley is industrial and bleak, and her new home on Rada is overpowering in color and exuberance. She notices the people of the province of New Delphi constantly smiling, and the women are dressed in brilliant colors, which is completely foreign to her. In fact, a fellow refugee informs her that her new red hair color is too bright, in an attempt to warn Claire that she’ll attract attention, something she would need to avoid on their home planet.  The contrast with her stark experience on Uley is striking, and watching Claire try new foods and manners of dress will draw you in.

Claire’s ability to undergo overwhelming change and remain strong is highly appealing. She manages to hide her psycher powers against overwhelming odds, but when she’s asked by her fellow refugees to risk everything to save their children, she never hesitates to act on their behalf. Her loyalty to them and to Ven, whom she desires but believes she cannot have, is touching. Because of her past, she has no idea how to communicate her feelings for Ven and fears that doing so will jeopardize her new life. She’s an engaging character, because she’s both vulnerable and strong, and you really want everything to work out for her.

My only complaint is that the novella ends without our seeing the final showdown on the bionet. I would have loved to have seen the last battle, but the letter at the end from Ven’s aunt to his mother is a clever way to end the story and made me laugh.

If you’re looking for a short but satisfying read, you really can’t go wrong with this novella. I definitely recommend this one!

Short Summer Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Reads

After yesterday’s rant about the weather in the Midwest, today is absolutely lovely, with temperatures in the 70s and lots of sunshine. If the weather were like this more often, I’d be thrilled. Great summer weather leads to thoughts of summer vacations, and there are lots of new releases out right now to take with you. I think publishers plan book releases around the end of school so we readers can take our paperbacks or e-readers with us to enjoy by the pool, but if you’re busy seeing the sights on your vacation, you probably don’t have time to read an entire novel. A great way to enjoy good writing without having to invest a lot of time is to read an anthology.

I like anthologies, because it gives me a chance to read new authors without a huge time investment. I usually only purchase anthologies with novellas by authors I like, but invariably those books include someone I’ve never heard of. I’ve discovered some really great new authors that way. Unfortunately, one downside to anthologies is that there are almost always two great novellas and two not-so-great ones. A great exception is the new release, Hexed. I was excited to read it, since it features two of my favorite authors, Ilona Andrews and Allyson James. I thought I’d do a quick review of Hexed, then tell you a little bit about some of my all-time favorite Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy anthologies.

Hexed

“Magic Dreams” by Ilona Andrews was by far the best entry in the anthology. The novella is part of Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, and features the romance between Cat Shifter Alpha Jim and blind-as-a-bat white tiger shifter Dali. This would actually be a great introduction to the series, as there’s a short description of how the magical shift caused drastic changes in Atlanta. The romance between the kick butt mercenary Jim and the insecure but loveable Dali is a hoot. Definitely an A in my book.

“Ice Shards” by Yasmine Galenorn is the second entry in the collection and is part of her Otherworld series. I haven’t read any of the novels in this series, but I was able to follow along fairly easily. Unfortunately I just didn’t find the narrator Lady Iris, a sprite, all that intriguing. The story revolves around her returning to her world with friends to discover if she truly is guilty of a crime she was accused of centuries ago. While not a bad story, it didn’t really interest me. C-

“Double Hexed” by Allyson James is the third novella in the book and I really liked it. It takes place in the Stormwalker universe and features stormwalker Janet Begay and her dragon lover, Mick. The plumbing in Janet’s hotel starts spewing blood, and she and several other characters are trapped in the hotel because of a hex. I’ve read the first two novels in James’ Stormwalker series, and this was a fun addition. I think you would still enjoy the story even if you haven’t read any of the novels. B+

“Blood Debt” by Jeanne C. Stein was the last novella in the collection and enjoyable, if not inspired. I had never read anything by this author, but I like the protagonist, a bounty hunter recently turned vampire. The narrator has to face a trial over killing a witch, which occurred in an earlier book, but it’s easy enough to follow what happens in the novella. Oddly enough, I was a couple pages into the story before I could figure out if the protagonist was male or female. B

Must Love Hellhounds This anthology is my all-time favorite. It features 3 outstanding novellas by authors I love, and you just can’t go wrong with this one. The first entry, “The Britlingens Go to Hell,” is a bizarre story by Charlaine Harris that I recommend you skip. It’s not worth reading. The following three, however, are gold. The second novella, “Angels’ Judgment,” is by Nalini Singh and is part of her Guild Hunters series. We learn how the Guild Director, Sara, meets her hottie husband, Deacon. The third story is “Magic Mourns,” by Ilona Andrews, and was just released separately as an e-novella. It’s part of Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, and was my first introduction to this author. The fourth entry is “Blind Spot,” by Meljean Brook, and is part of her Guardian series. I’ve only read one of the Guardian novels, and was underwhelmed, but this novella is short and sweet. Sir Pup (the hellhound) is a hoot.

Inked is another favorite anthology with three great novellas by favorite authors. The first novella, “Skin Deep,” is by Karen Chance. Chance writes the Cassandra Palmer series, which I’m not a huge fan of, but this is a lot of fun. It takes place in the Palmer universe and features half-werewolf and mage Lia and her Harley riding hunk Cyrus. The second entry is Marjorie M. Liu’s “Armor of Roses,” which is the darkest novella in the book. It’s part of her Hunter Kiss series, and I’m not sure you can just jump right in without having read previous installments. However, I’m a huge fan of Ms. Liu’s writing and this is an outstanding addition to her series. “Etched in Silver” by Yasmine Galenorn is the third novella and my least favorite. Just like her entry in Hexed, this takes place in the world of her Otherworld series. I felt a bit lost when reading it, so I usually skip it. The final entry is Eileen Wilks’ “Human Nature” and it’s fabulous. If you haven’t read any of Wilks’ World of the Lupi books, you should, because the characters are complex and the books are action-packed. This novella is no exception.

Unlike the previously mentioned anthologies, in Burning Up there are really only two strong novellas, but I find myself re-reading those two frequently. The first novella is “Whisper of Sin” by Nalini Singh, and it’s part of her Psy-Changeling series. We learn how human Ria meets leopard shifter Emmitt. Great story and a fun prequel to Singh’s series. The second entry is Angela Knight’s “Blood and Roses,” and you can easily follow along without having read any of her other books. Unfortunately, it just didn’t hold my interest, and the romance felt rushed, which happens frequently with a story of this length. “Shifting Sea” by Virginia Kantra is the third novella of the collection. It’s both historical and fantasy, since the story is about a mermaid and a soldier returning home from the war on the Peninsula. Well-written, but not my favorite. The final entry, Meljean Brook’s “Here There Be Monsters,” is outstanding. It’s the prequel to her steampunk novel The Iron Duke, and I couldn’t wait to read the novel after reading this novella. I highly recommend it.

May Roundup of Books

Yesterday was so much fun that the rest of this week can’t possibly compete. First, two of my favorite authors, Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh, released new books yesterday and they were both fantastic. It’s so rare to have your expectations met and exceeded, isn’t it? Both Magic Slays and Kiss of Snow were great books, and I highly recommend them. I also joined the 21^st century yesterday with the arrival of my new smart phone. I was pleasantly surprised by how tech savvy I am, considering my last phone was just a phone. We’ll have to see how pleased I am once I receive my first bill.

After basking in the glow of downloading the Kindle app to my phone and re-reading sections of the two aforementioned books, I was surfing the blogosphere and found one of my favorite bloggers had done a short post of some of her favorite reads from this month. Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I thought I’d do the same! She highlighted books that were new releases this month, but I’m going to list favorite books I read this month that were new to me. Some of these books were released as long ago as (gasp!) 1986. These are not all the books I read in May, but they’re some of my favorites.

Lois McMaster Bujold Cordelia’s Honor

This is an omnibus of two novels, Shards of Honor (1986) and Barrayar, published together in 1999. Even if you’re not familiar with Bujold’s Vorkosigan series or even a sci-fi fan, these two novels are outstanding. The hero and heroine are older than your typical lovers in a romance – she’s in her 30s and he’s 40 – and the development of their romance is a pleasure to read, particularly since they begin as adversaries, if not quite the out and out enemies their societies would like them to be. Cordelia’s Honor is considered more sci-fi than romance, but it has enough elements of both to satisfy any reader of either genre.

Stacey Jay Dead on the Delta

I really enjoy novels that take place in the South, and this one doesn’t disappoint. The action takes place in Louisiana after fairies have mutated because of a chemical spill, and Annabelle Lee is one of the few humans immune to the deadly fairy bites. Because of her immunity, Annabelle is forced to work with an antagonistic ex-lover to help find a possible serial killer. She isn’t a very sympathetic character at the beginning, but by the end you’re rooting for her. This novel reminded me of Diana Rowland’s Blood of the Demon in its setting and use of forensic science and the arcane, which is always a good thing.

Karen Hawkins Scandal in Scotland

Karen Hawkins’ novels are always a lot of fun, and the only thing disappointing about Scandal in Scotland is that it ends too quickly. This is the second book in her Hurst Amulet series, and if you’ve read any of her other novels, some old favorites make appearances to help Marcail Beauchamp and William Hurst get together. Captain William Hurst needs to sail to Egypt with the infamous Hurst Amulet to free his brother Michael, who’s being held for ransom for the object. Unfortunately, his ex-lover Marcail is being blackmailed and her blackmailer demands that she steal the Amulet from William. There’s an exciting race towards Scotland after the amulet is stolen from Marcail, and the two are forced to work together to recover it and free Marcail of her blackmailer. It’s a great read for summer, but I would have liked it to be a bit longer, and I’m still not sure exactly what the amulet is for, although we do get a hint at its purpose towards the end of the novel.

Courtney Milan Unlocked (novella)

I learned about this novella from several romance blogs, and I’m so glad I did! It’s only 99₵ at Amazon and was worth much more. Courtney Milan self-published the novella, and it is so clear that she is an experience, published author, because the quality of the story is infinitely better than the other self-published work I’ve read. In this novella, Evan Carlton, Earl of Westfield, is returning to London after nearly 10 years away. Before he left, he’d singled out Lady Elaine Warren and made her an object of ridicule and misery at the hands of the ton. He hopes for her forgiveness and to rectify past wrongs, but when you read the story, you’ll realize just how difficult that task will be. He made her absolutely miserable, and she’s suffered ever since. This is a sweet love story, and it has encouraged me to try other Courtney Milan books.

Carrie Vaughn Kitty and the Silver Bullet

This is the fourth novel in Carrie Vaughn’s series about werewolf talk radio host Kitty Norville, and so far it’s my favorite. I did an earlier blog post about the public library’s odd collection of this series: they have books one through three, then seven, so I had to purchase this book for my kindle, but it was well worth it. Kitty and her packmate Ben are forced to return to Denver and find themselves in a turf war between vampires and Kitty’s old pack leaders. The pacing of this book was just right; there was plenty of action and tension between the warring factions, plus some sexual tension between Kitty and Ben. I believe you could pick up the series at this point and still follow along, but I highly suggest you read all three prior novels as you’ll enjoy the characters more.

Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs

Maisie Dobbs is the first in Winspear’s series of mysteries set in post-WWI London. Maisie Dobbs is a young women working as a private investigator in London ten years after the First World War ends. She was at Cambridge when war broke out and left school to serve as a nurse, witnessing innumerable horrors and experiencing personal loss. The novel is fascinating in its depiction of class differences and the opportunities available to women at the time. I highly recommend it but feel I should warn you that because of the setting and the mystery dealing with injured WWI veterans, it’ll leave you feeling wrung out. I suggest you read it on a sunny day, because it’s fairly grim in places, even though any violence is implicit and there’s no sex or inappropriate language.

Ilona Andrews Magic Slays

This is the long-awaited fifth installment of Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, set in Atlanta. As I mentioned earlier, I love books set in the South, and this is one of my favorites, because I’m an Atlanta native. It cracks me up to see how the different Atlanta neighborhoods have changed after the tech fails and magic makes its unpredictable return. I adore the characters of Kate Daniels and Curran, the Alpha of all the shapeshifters in Atlanta, and this novel picks up where the fourth, Magic Bleeds, ends, with the two mated and living in the Pack’s Keep. Seeing their relationship develop is a delight, and Kate’s snarky comments and dry wit make an appearance at just the right moments to help alleviate any tension. When Kate is hired to investigate a kidnapping, she learns that the man kidnapped was creating a deadly machine that is now in the hands of an anti-magic terrorist group. As Curran’s consort and alpha to the thousands of pack members, she has to find and disarm the weapon. In her race to do so, she learns some shocking and uncomfortable truths about her mother and step-father that lead her to question her relationship with Curran. This is an outstanding addition to the series, and I loved it. I think you could follow along without having read the previous novels, but it’s a lot more fun to read the others first.

Nalini Singh Kiss of Snow

Kiss of Snow is the tenth installment of Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series, and readers have been waiting for this book for a long time. Singh has been building the tension between wolf alpha Hawke and Psy Sienna Lauren for a long time. I wasn’t sure how this novel would turn out, because Sienna is only 19 while Hawke is in his early thirties. I’ve never been a big fan of large age differences between characters, even in Regency romances when it would be historically accurate. But Singh definitely convinced me with this one! Sienna is one of the most powerful Psy (psychic) characters we’ve seen to date, and she’s very capable of calling Hawke on his behavior and making him pay attention to her without acting immature. There’s also a secondary romance between Lara, the pack healer, and Walker, Sienna’s Psy uncle, that’s really touching. The tension between the pack and the Pure Psy factions that are threatened by the Psy-Changeling alliances has grown steadily throughout the series, and it reaches a critical point in this novel. It will be interesting to see where Singh goes next with the series, because the situations between the Psy and the Changelings and even among the Psy themselves have become chaotic. This is one of my favorites of the series, and I’ll be re-reading it many times!

You Tease!

In my last post, I commented on some of the difficulties that authors face when writing a series. Thinking about the difficulties in writing series led me to ponder on the popularity of “teaser” chapters. These teaser chapters are often included at the end of a book, and usually are the first chapter of the next novel in the series. I’m impressed when authors manage to do this, because I’m a procrastinator and can’t imagine being far enough ahead to have a completed chapter available for publishing in advance. Usually I enjoy these teaser chapters and look forward to the next book in the series, but there are two OUTSTANDING teaser chapters that have always impressed me. What’s striking about these two well written chapters is that they evoked very different responses at the time of reading, yet clearly achieved their purpose in encouraging me to read the next novel in the series. I could not wait for the following books to come out, and I believe both chapters are excellent examples of how to write a first chapter of a novel.

Patricia Briggs is one of my all-time favorite authors, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Her novels are well crafted and her characters inspire intense feelings of loyalty in her readers (this reader being no exception). Her Mercedes Thompson series is a wonderful series, but I really enjoy her Alpha and Omega series, which is written in the same fictional world and around the same time as the Mercedes Thompson books. Currently the Alpha and Omega series features a novella (“Alpha and Omega”) and two novels (Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground). The heroine of this series, Anna Latham Cornick, was attacked and changed into a werewolf. Her werewolf pack in Chicago brutalized her to keep her under control, but the hero, Charles Cornick, rescues her and the two become mates. What makes the series so fascinating is the strength of character and mental toughness that Anna displays. She could easily be just another victim, but she is “tough as shoe leather,” as her mate describes her in Hunting Ground.

Normally Ms. Briggs doesn’t release teaser chapters with her novels, but after reading Cry Wolf, I went to her webpage, where I found she had posted the first chapter of the second novel in the series, Hunting Ground. If I taught creative writing, I would include this first chapter as an outstanding example of how to keep the reader guessing while immediately drawing her in. The chapter begins with an unnamed “she” who is stalking an angry man, apparently to kill him, but we soon realize that the “she” is Anna in wolf form and the angry man is her mate Charles. He’s been arguing with his father, and about to lose his temper. Charles is the enforcer for all werewolves and losing his temper would mean someone would get hurt. Anna’s “attack” is an attempt to get him to play and relax. After reading this chapter on Ms. Briggs’ webpage, I could not wait for the next installment of her series, and I re-read that chapter over and over.

Ilona Andrews is another of my favorite paranormal authors. Ilona Andrews is actually the pseudonym of a husband and wife team, Andrew and Ilona Gordon, and they write the Kate Daniels and The Edge series of urban fantasy. Both series are excellent, but my favorite is the Kate Daniels series, partly because it takes place in Atlanta, my home town. Kate Daniels is a mercenary in an Atlanta where magic has suddenly returned and destroyed much of the technology we take for granted. She has a love-hate relationship with the shifters (think werewolves but with lots of different animals) and a definite “hate” relationship with the People, the group that controls the vampires in the area. Kate is snarky and obnoxious but also cares about her friends and looks after them in ways that often get her into trouble.

The teaser chapter that I find so intriguing is for the fourth book in the Kate Daniels series, Magic Bleeds. This chapter was included in On the Edge when it was published, and it made me so mad I almost refused to read the fourth book. The third book of the series had ended with Curran, the alpha of all the shifters in Atlanta winning a bet with Kate that she would cook him dinner in her undies. In the teaser chapter, Kate has cooked the dinner, applied make-up, and fixed her hair, only to be stood up by Curran. When she calls to find out where he is, she is told to direct all future inquiries to the security chief. I loved how the authors had developed the sexual tension between Kate and Curran in the previous books, and I was really peeved that the authors were breaking them up. Of course, I absolutely had to see how the authors resolved this situation, and ended up reading the book, which is the entire point of having teaser chapters! Magic Bleeds is longer than many of the other books in the series, and the length really pays off in character development and intensity of action. This book is the fourth in what is supposed to be a series of seven, and we learn just enough about the characters and their pasts to question how the rest of the series will resolve different issues. Really well done of the authors, because it keeps the readers invested in the characters, which makes us buy future books!

I’ve since read numerous teaser chapters, but I’ve yet to read one that comes close to intriguing me the way the one for Hunting Ground did and I certainly haven’t had one evoke such a visceral reaction as the teaser for Magic Bleeds. I can’t wait to read the future installments of both these series.