Book Review: "Affliction"

Book Review

"Affliction" - Laurell K Hamilton

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #22

SPOILER FREE

I started reading this series back at the start of 2011. I never caught up with the series until the spring of 2012, so there wasn't much of a gap for me between books 20 and 21. But i bought #21 on the day of release and read it not long after that, meaning that i had a year gap between that and this. This was good because it gave me time to get excited about it. As the year went on, i kept up to date with Hamilton's blog and the hints she dropped on the lead up to this. I remember the sad morning at the start of the year, reading that Edward wasn't going to be in this one and the overly happy evening i had a couple of weeks later when she changed her mind.

Of course, like most series i read, i tend to speculate about what might happen and what i want to see happen. This was no different. From the scribbled notes i made when the plot was released, i pondered whether Hamilton had been watching too many zombie movies leading up to this. But it was a nice change, using zombies. Anita's natural ability is with zombies but we rarely see them in the series. So having a book based around it, i thought would be fun. 

And it was. In was an interesting element to add in. It moved at a steady pace. It was nice to meet Micah's family and see their reaction to him and his lifestyle. We learn a wee bit more about Micah's Coalition. It was more focused on the police work though, which i liked. I miss that. The past handful of books have been focused on relationships and sex with the crime element still there but pushed to the side. Having that switched was great. Some of the minor characters got a little more pagetime (eg. Dev) which was good too (though on the same point, when was the last time we saw Richard? I honestly can't remember!) 

But having a plot and sticking to it throughout most of the book made a huge difference. I actually can't remember much of the plots since book 10. Not a good sign. But it has balanced out over the past couple of books and this book is the result of that. And Edward was in this one which adds an extra star, plot or no plot (guess who my favourite character is??)

I am looking forward to where Hamilton will go next. She has good ideas, but the main thing (in my opinion) is keeping the balance which she has in this book. And on a final point: WHEN WILL WE SEE OLAF AGAIN !!! hehe 

Podcast Review: "Welcome To Night Vale"

This review is a little different. Why? Because i'm reviewing a podcast.

Being on tumblr has opened up a lot more fandoms to me and the latest is the podcast "Welcome To Night Vale" created by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor. It is produced by commonplace books. 

Set in a fictional desert town, Welcome To Night Vale is a local community radio show presented by Night Vale resident Cecil Baldwin. Each episode is loaded with local gossip, news and events.

So what makes it stand out? I mean, i don't listen to radio shows about what goes on in my city and i live here! Well, Night Vale isn't exactly a normal town, what with the Sheriff's Secret Police, A Vague,Yet Menacing Government Agency, The Hooded Figures, the Angels and a floating cat called Khoshekh, among other things. Many people have compared it to the likes of the Twilight Zone. It's strange. You don't know whats around the corner and yet the citizens of Night Vale accept all this as part of their everyday lives.

Each episode has one main story with a load of other small ones around it. Some little stories build up over weeks until they come to a climax. The weather section of each episode is just music, but its good music and different from what i normally listen to which is good for me. 

Being a podcast means that we don't actually know what the place and the people look like. Cecil is described as being "Not short or tall, fat or thin. With hair, a nose and eyes". This allows the listener to make you their own minds about what they are hearing, which has lead to some amazing fan art. Everyone has their own image of Cecil. And of Carlos, the scientist (who Cecil has a total crush on!). 

It's a fun podcast and i look forward to the 1st and the 15th of every month now for the new episodes  If i haven't convinced you to give it a go yet, look at some of the fan art and read a couple of quotes from the show. And then listen to the pilot. It's strange, yes. It's doesn't make much sense at first, yes. But, by the end of the second episode  you will be hooked, randomly yelling "ALL HAIL THE GLOW CLOUD!!" while singing along to "The Bus Is Late" by Satellite High and drawing eyes everywhere. After that point, you belong to Night Vale.

A final word of warning: 

DO NOT APPROACH THE DOG PARK!!

Book Review: How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea - Mira Grant

How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so excited hearing this was finally getting released. I've been missing the Newsflesh world!! Unlike the other short Newsflesh stories, this is a sequel to the series (ok, San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats was a sequel but its focus was on the Rising so that doesn't count).

This one follows Mahir as he travels to Australia to meet the Australian branch of After The End Times as well as learning more about the Australian way of life, which is much different from life in Britain or America (for example).

It was an interesting story and totally worth a look for Newsflesh fans. It does poke a bit of fun at Australians but in the end, proves that they are more courageous and better prepared for a zombie apocalypse than we are (seriously, i know people who run away screaming at the smallest of spiders, can you image what would happen with zombies!)

"After the Rising was over, life for Australians went on much as it had before. They went to work, went to the pub, and endeavored not to die while living in a country that contained the lion’s share of the world’s venomous snakes, deadly spiders, and other such vermin. The addition of zombie kangaroos— and worse, zombie wombats— did nothing to change the essential character of the nation."

In conclusion, Australia is awesome. The End.

I'm joking, the book is more than that. We learn a bit more about the world since the end of Blackout. I still miss the Masons (and i'm pretty sure Mahir does too). And it was interesting to see how the world is moving forward.

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Book Review: "Lady Of The Shades" By Darren Shan

Lady of the Shades by Darren Shan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not a huge fan of murder/mysteries so this book took me some time to get into, but it was interesting and kept me guessing till the end. There was a couple of scenes I saw coming but most of the last third of the book surprised me. I love Shan's work and it's nice to see how he's writing for adults compared to his teen stuff. I'm enjoying it :)

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Film Review: World War Z (2013)

A couple of years back, a friend recommended me a book he had not long finished - "World War Z" by Max Brooks. It was about a man from the UN, who, after the zombie apocalypse, interviews survivors. This book is their stories. So, of course, when the movie was announced, i was curious. How could you turn this into a film? There isn't a focal character. Hmmmm......


My mind went elsewhere when i got linked to an application form to be an extra. I almost filled it in as well. A couple of weeks later and i spotted this sign......

I almost went crazy! I made it my goal to get onto the set and see some filming. This was a once in a lifetime chance and it happens to be a film based on a book that i've read. For people who don't know, George Square is in the center of Glasgow, Scotland. News spread fast, and before long most shops had sold out of the book and crowds gathered at the fences, hoping to see some filming, Brad Pitt or both. Me, I was there for the filming, i'm not a huge fan of Brad Pitt. 

Crowds gathered to see the action (And/Or Brad Pitt)

It wasn't actually as hard as i thought to get on set, and i was down there pretty much every day, snapping away. One day though, the whole set was pretty much open (this was near the end of the filming) and i forgot my camera!! What kind of photographer am i??? But i had my phone which was something, at least. I have photos of pretty much everything, from cars, to mail boxes/newspaper stands, to the extras, to even the guy with the little clipboard that says take x on it!! I was especially pleased with that one. This was one of the last days of filming and this was the scene where people are running across the square being chased by zombies (its in the trailer). I got to watch two takes of this being filmed, it was so fun!!

Send in the army

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't clicked on yet, it's not Philadelphia, it's Glasgow. Sorry to destroy the illusion. We laughed anyway when watching the movie because, though they changed everything to look like Philadelphia, they left the Glasgow logos on the bus stops. I don't think Philadelphia has history about The Bell That Never Rang, The Tree That Never Grew, The Fish That Never Swam and The Bird That Never Flew. Would be weird if they did. Anyway, i'm off topic now. Back to the film. So yeah, it was cool. I never saw Brad Pitt, but as i said, i wasn't fussed about that.

So the film as a whole, what did i think? Well, i wasn't impressed. But i didn't think i would be. As a fan of the book, i knew it would be nothing like it. In the end, all the book and the film had in common was the title and zombies. That's it. People who like this movie and go off and buy the book are in for a shock!

One of the RV's driven by Pitt 

It was your typical zombie movie with nothing new really added. I felt i had seen most of this before, pieced together in different movies over the years. The only main attractions to this movie i had was that i had read the book and seen the filming.

Well, actually, it wasn't totally bad. The effects were pretty good and i have Muse stuck in my head for the rest of the day (which is fine with me, being a fan of Muse).

I may not have really enjoyed it, but at the end of the day, i don't regret seeing it. When the movie ended, i said to my friend; read the book, watched the filming, met the author, seen the movie. Case closed.

CRASH!!

There isn't much left to say. Is it worth watching? I really don't know how to answer that. If you wanna see it, then go have a look. It's not a film i would hugely recommend though. But i'll let you make up your mind about it on your own.

Mid Year Review 2013

So it's now coming up to the middle point of 2013 and i think this is the best time to look back on the films seen and books read so far. Below is my current top 5 lists. This could be completely different come Christmas time but who knows.

My top 5 movies of 2013 (so far) 

Iron Man 3 

Despicable Me 2 

Man Of Steel 

Star Trek Into Darkness 

Warm Bodies 

My Top 5 books of 2013 (so far) 

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett 

Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire 

Kitty's House Of Horrors - Carrie Vaughn 

Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion 

Blood Circle - P. N. Elrod

Film Review: Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Despicable Me advertisements 2010

I love Despicable Me! There, i said it! I'm in my twenties and i don't care, i love it! I saw the first movie in the cinema more than once and i know for a fact that i'll see this one again and again.

You were looking for an unbiased opinion of this movie? Sorry, you aren't really getting one here sadly. But i'll try.

As i write this, Despicable Me 2 isn't actually out in the cinemas yet. I went to the preview screening. Of course i was going to, it shouldn't be that surprising.

Minions, Gru and Myself back in 2010

Anyway, there wasn't really a plot released for this movie, up until a couple of months ago. The first two trailers gave nothing away. It wasn't until trailer 3 when we see the Anti Villain League, Lucy and the plot. Strangely enough (minor spoiler), the second trailer with the minions being kidnapped is actually part of the movie! I wasn't too sure if it would be or not, but it worked it's way in perfectly. Out of context advertisements work sometimes.
So what is the plot? Gru is a family man now and has given up his evil ways. However, when a new villain plots world domination, the Anti Villain League turn to Gru for help. Being an ex-villain, he should prove a useful asset. He is teamed up with Lucy Wilde, a spy for the AVL, in order to take down this villain. And yes, before you ask, there is a couple of references to him stealing the moon throughout the movie (and he still has his handy FreezeRay too)

So how does it hold up against the first movie? It keeps to the idea of the importance of family, which i liked. Though the girls are older, there isn't much difference in their characters. In fact, we see more of their personalities come out, especially with Edith. Gru has to face reality with his girls, in the way that they will grow up and want to go on dates etc. He's very protective of them. Agnes is as cute as ever! And she still has that unicorn! :) But in my opinion, we didn't see enough of them, like we did in the first movie. The first movie was based around them. This time, it's based around Gru and Lucy. Its the only thing i could say that i didn't like about this, i would liked to have seen a bit more of the girls.

Stealing Stuart's Cupcake

The voice acting was a good as ever. Still think it's strange that though Al Pacino pulled out and was replaced, his name still appeared in the trailers. But oh well. It's as funny as the first. The minions are great. They get more screen time around this time too. I don't know if its because they are so popular or because a minion movie is in the works or both, but i'm not complaining since i love them!

Overall, it's a fun family movie that will entertain children and adults alike (The number of adults outweighed the number of children in the screen i was in). If you liked the first one, you will like this one.

Viewer Tip: See it in 3D and once the film is over, wait! Fans of the first movie will remember the end credit scenes with the minions trying to get out the screen. They do something along the same lines this time and it's brilliant in 3D!!

Film Review: Man Of Steel (2013)

WARNING: CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS

I'm a Marvel girl. I don't hate DC but i'm not a huge fan. Thinking about it (please don't hate me for my lack of DC knowledge if i'm wrong), they only have two main heroes - Batman and Superman. While Marvel have the X-Men, Fantastic Four and the many heroes that make up the Avengers. This could be because DC hasn't have that many successful movies over the past couple of years, apart from the Dark Knight trilogy. But i'm not sure. What i can say is this, with the success of Marvel's Phase One, DC are trying to go down the same road. Summer 2015 is gonna be a big one with the planned releases of not only the Avengers 2 but also the Justice League!!! FIGHT!!!! Only kidding.

So with this in mind and the fact that Batman has already been rebooted, the next step was clearly Superman. Which leads us to this review. We all know Superman and his story. Even the people who don't like comics/comic movies, still know the story. So the writers had to find a new and interesting way to tell it, while also keeping the same tone as the Dark Knight trilogy (since it's meant to all be connected). Keeping Nolan on was a great idea and Snyder is a great director. You can see his personal style coming though with a little mix of Nolan throughout the movie. The only thing i didn't like about the direction was that i felt the camera was too shaky at the start of the movie (i really hope the director from the Hunger Games hasn't started a trend! Please!)

Another thing i wasn't keen on was the order of the movie once Superman lands on Earth. I felt the next 20 mins were all over the place. Clark saves some people..flashback....he's walking along the street.....flashback.......he's in a bar ........ flashback. I liked seeing him as a child, but it was a bit all over the place. In a way, it could be a good thing, since they talk about him being a shadow and not staying in one place long enough for people to get to know him. He has a habit of disappearing. If that was the point of the order, then it kind of makes sense, but personally, i didn't like it.

The acting was okay. The writers tried to add more logic into the movie which i liked. I did have a moment when i felt sorry for General Zod, since everything that happened wasn't totally his fault, he was just doing what he thought was right, but so were the other characters. And just because you think it's right, doesn't always mean that it is.
The action scenes were good but army were a little stupid. Can't you see your bullets have no effect??? Stop shooting, you idiot! It serves no purpose! AAAHHH!
Finally, i loved the stuff on Krypton and Clark has two awesome fathers!

It's not my favorite movie of the year so far, but it will definitely be in the Top 10, if not the Top 5. It's well worth a look.

Film Review - The Great Gatsby (2013)

I'm going to open by saying that i have never read the book or seen any other versions of the Great Gatsby. So i'm a new viewer to this story. I do have the book and will read it and when i do, i'll write up a Book vs Movie but that won't be for a long while (have you seen my to-read pile?) If you want that review sooner, drop me a note, and i'll move it up the pile.

But anyway, the new 2013 version of the movie? What did I think?

It was strange. As I've said, I'm new to this story so wasn't sure what to expect. Is it silly for me to say that I thought his big secret was something a lot darker than being poor and in love? I know I sound naive but I really didnt know anything about this story. I studied 1984 and Lord of the Flies in school! But taking that in mind, It didn't effect my enjoyment of the movie. In a way, it was a good thing. I remember watching the movie versions of 1984 and Lord of the Flies and knowing what to expect and it not shocking me as much as those stories are meant to. Watching this without history meant I could enjoy it more and not compare it to other versions or the book. I hate watching a movie based off a book I enjoyed and it's nothing like it and i can't enjoy it as a movie due to that.

Moving on. The stylising of this movie was brilliant. Very classy yet bright and colourful. It had some humor in the middle of, what I would say, is a serious movie. Easy to follow. Music was a bit a head of its time but who cares! Gatsby's parties looked fun. On a side note, how bad would it be, to be a cleaner at Gatsby's? Bad times! The acting was pretty good. I'm a fan of DiCaprio though.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable movie. How it compares to other versions, i can't tell you, but I enjoyed this one. At the end, my friend turned to me and said "you didn't enjoy it, did you? It's not a Sam movie" since I normally wouldn't pick this kind of movie to watch but I was like no, I enjoyed it. It makes you think as well. It's worth a look.

4/5 

Let The Old Dreams Die - Review

Let the Old Dreams Die by John Ajvide Lindqvist
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like most books of short stories, some stories were better than others. Being Lindqvist, you never know what the next story holds. Though I enjoyed pretty much all the stories, I particularly enjoyed "Equinox" and "Let The Old Dreams Die". The only story I didn't like was "To Hold You While The Music Plays" which is perfectly normally according to the afterwards - "They've all had their own favourite. Except "To Hold You While The Music Plays". Nobody likes that one, apart from me." - I normally don't bother with the Afterwards but I love Lindqvist and his afterwards to this book was informal and fun :)

I loved having sequels to Let The Right One In and Handling The Undead. LTROI is my favourite Lindqvist story and I'm so happy to discover what really happened to Oskar and Eli :)

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Waiting in the wings....

I'm finishing off writing up some more reviews to publish which I will hopefully have done within the next couple of days. 

These include:

*Book Vs Movie - Let The Right One In (Swedish and US versions)

*Film review - The Great Gatsby

*Author Review - John Ajvide Lindqvist (a new section where I'll be looking into some of my favourite writer's work) 

I am also going to publish some of the photos from the World War Z set, to mark the films release in a few weeks time. 

Drop me a comment below if you have a review request or would like to see a certain type of post more often :) 

Film Review - The Hangover Part 3 (2013)

The time has come. The time has come to say goodbye to the wolfpack. When the first Hangover film was released back in 2009, it was brilliant. One of the best comedy movies in a long time and set the bar for future movies. So when the second movie came out 2 years later, we expected the same standard. And, honestly, it was a little disappointing. It was a good movie. It was still funny. But it followed pretty much the same structure as the first movie, so it was a little repetitive. But it was still a good movie and we still enjoyed it, despite its flaws. 
What were we to think about a third movie? What could they do differently? Well, no stag do, no wedding, so whats the plot? A criminal war between a Vegas mobster and Chow which the wolfpack is dragged into. 

Did it hold up well against the other two movies? Yes and No. It's a decent watch and a nice ending to the series but it's not as funny as the first two. It's more feel good than funny. But i'm not saying it's not funny, it is, just not as much as the other two. What i loved about this movie though, was that it went full circle. We go back to Vegas, we revisit characters from the first movie including Jade and Carlos. There are a load of in jokes that you won't get unless you have seen the other movies. Strangely though, this is the only movie in the series not to feature Mike Tyson. 

If you want a movie to cheer you up and brighten your day, go see this. If you're a fan of the trilogy, go see it. If you didn't like the other movies, i'd give it a miss. 

One little thing that i'll end with though. A little tip. Don't leave when the credits start to roll. There is a scene in the middle of the credits and its totally worth waiting for. That one scene made me want to see another Hangover movie, and it's the perfect end scene for the trilogy. 

Film Review - Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Firstly, I want to start by saying I'm not a huge Star Trek fan (I'm sorry I'm sorry!!).

My dad is a fan of the original show so I have watched it somewhat. But space stuff normally doesn't interest me. Far away galaxies and aliens aren't really my thing. But this did look quite good.

I can't compare it to the last movie since I never watched it. At the time, I was a huge Heroes fan and couldn't see Zachary Quinto in any other role apart from Sylar, so it was difficult for me to take the trailers seriously. Heroes has been off the air for years now so it isn't too bad. Shame to say, I'm also a BBC Sherlock fan, and if I didn't have a thing for Benedict Cumberbatch, I would have had the same problem this time around. (Though there was one scene in the movie I did take a step back and think "You know, this is Sylar chasing after Sherlock Holmes")

But enough of me and my typecasting, how was the movie? It was surprisingly really good. Not too hard to follow, even for new viewers such as myself. It had its funny moments, its dramatic moments, its silly moments and its action packed moments. The acting is pretty decent. Plot is a bit iffy but i don't know if that is just this plot or if its a genre thing, i'm not sure. As i've mentioned, it's not my normal territory.

Is it worth a watch? Yeah. It was on my list of summer blockbusters and though it's not the best movie so far this summer, its good. It's not for everyone but if you like sci-fi/star trek, go see it. And if not, if you think the trailer is good, then go see it too, it do live up to the advertisements

. 

Book Review: "Dead Ever After"

Book Review

"Dead Ever After" - Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse/The Southern Vampire Mysteries/ True Blood #13 (Final book)

Though I've never really bothered with the tv version, I loved the books for years. Despite the decline in quality the past couple of books, I still get excited every year for another visit to Bon Temps. Nothing beats the blues than snuggling up in bed with a cup of tea and some Sookie Stackhouse :) I would say it was a guilty pleasure except I don't feel guilty about it lol. And like many fans, I had my own ideas and hopes for the ending. Strangely, everything I wanted to happen actually happened! Which resulted in me yelling "Yasss!!! I knew it!" at random moments. 

So what did I think? Well, being as spoiler free as I can, there are no new major character brought in, which I liked. However, I felt that Harris had just wrote a list of past character who could be bad guys and just picked at random. Which did result in me thinking "wait! What? He's after Sookie? Why? He was in like one scene, 5 books ago! Why have you brought him back?" They weren't all like that though. One of the villains was actually a bad guy and we knew that and I had marked him down as a character I wanted to make a reappearance before the series ended anyway. So that made sense. The others, not so much. 

The other thing I didn't like was the ending. Not the conclusion, I liked that, but the final face off with the bad guys. It felt rushed, without sense of threat. Now, mmmm, book 9! Now THAT had threat. This one didn't. The scene was resolved within a couple of pages, without much happening. So that was a disappointment. 

All in all, the book did feel rushed towards to end and yes it did had plot holes and we were left with quite a few questions left to ask. But we live, make do and enjoy the ride anyway. Old faces popped up for a final time to help Sookie. The story moved into third person as well as first which was fun - nice to see what else goes on when Sookie's not around - and it did tie up a load of loose ends. 

So in conclusion, did i like it? Silly question. Course i did. It wasn't the best book, but was a little better than the last couple. It was another wee fun adventure in Bon Temps. I still can't get over the fact that this is the final book. Next summer won't be the same without it. But i'm glad Sookie got her happily ever after, and that was the whole point. I'm sad to see her go. 

On a side note - as for the unanswered questions, at the end of the year Harris is due to release the final final Sookie book called "After Dead" which is what happened next - an A-Z of characters and their final fates. So I'm looking forward to reading that out of curiosity. 

Film Review - Iron Man 3 (2013)

"I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian"

So Marvel's Phase Two is officially under way. It's the moment we've been waiting for since the end of last summer. Will it be as good as Phase One? No one was really sure. The Avengers was such a good movie that Phase Two had to step it up. 

Phase Two (as far as i'm aware) will feature the following:

• Iron Man 3
• Thor: The Dark World
• Captian America: The Winter Soldier 
• Guardians Of The Galaxy 
• Ant Man (?)
• The Avengers 2

I'm not too sure about Ant Man since some sources say Phase Two, others say Phase Three. 
And don't forget ABC's new show "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." (#CoulsonLives)

So yeah, Iron Man 3 opened the next Phase of operation, and it had to work as a stand alone movie as well as part of the series. Plus with a different director from the other two Iron Man movie, it was going to be new ball game. 

How did it work out? Brilliant! I loved it. It contained everything an Iron Man movie should contain; Tony Stark's Wit, big explosion action scenes, humour, a bit of growing up, references to other Marvel movies/characters, fun end credit scene a cameo from Stan Lee, etc. The plot was a little silly but that's part of the fun. The other movies in this Phase have a lot to live up to as this is just the opening. But i have faith.

The new Thor trailer came out the same week as Iron Man 3 was released in the UK, and it looks amazing too. This is encouraging a whole new generation to get into comics and superheroes. 

I don't want to say too much and spoil anything for those who haven't yet seen it. To those people i say this, go see it. It's worth it. It has everything you need. 

Coming Soon

During the next few days, i have a couple of reviews which i will be publishing. So keep you're eyes open, for i have the following waiting in the wings:

• Film Review - Iron Man 3
• Book Review - Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris
• Book Vs Movie - Let The Right One In

2013 Reading Challenge

1. The Night Eternal - Guillermo Del Toro
2. Bloodlist - P.N. Elrod
3. Zom-B Underground - Darren Shan
4. Life Blood - P.N. Elrod
5. Blood Circle - P.N. Elrod
6. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand - Carrie Vaughn
7. Fifty Sheds Of Grey - C.T. Grey
8. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
9. Art In The Blood - P.N. Elrod
10. Fire In The Blood - P.N. Elrod
11. Blood On The Water - P.N. Elrod
12. Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion
13. Married In Green - Seanan McGuire
14. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman*
15. Zom-B City - Darren Shan
16. Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire
17. Kitty Raises Hell - Carrie Vaughn
18. Sweet Poison Wine - Seanan McGuire
19. Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris (reread)
20. Dead Ever After - Charlaine Harris 
21. A Bad Beginning - 
22. Let The Old Dreams Die - John Ajvide Lindqvist
23. The Vampire Diaries: The Unseen - L.J. Smith (creator) 

If you would like to read a full review on any of the above books, please feel free to leave a comment. Also comment if you wish to recommend anything. I love recommendations :)

This list will be updated throughout the year.

*audio/drama

Book Review - Discount Armageddon

DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON

SEANAN MCGUIRE

I first discovered Seanan McGuire at the start of last year, but not as Seanan McGuire but as her pen name, Mira Grant. I have yet to find a UK shop that sells her work under her own name. I had to get this (and a couple others which i haven't read yet) send over from the States. It was worth it though! She's a wonderful author, but as herself and as Mira.

I had been reading the short stories on her website based before this series so i have a good idea how this world worked and i was excited about starting this book. 

The story follows Verity Price, a young woman who would like nothing more than to dance. However, she was raised to be a cryptozoologist, to protect innocent creatures from humans and other creatures that may want to hurt them. So she lives a split life. But one day, cryptid women start disappearing and it's up to Verity to find the cause and stop it. It doesn't help that a member of the Covenant of St. George is in town too (the Covenant's goal is to wipe out these creatures and sees the Price family as traitors to the cause as they had once been members)

So what did i think? I loved it! It was fun and action packed. You didn't really know what was round the corner and even if you did, you didn't see the witty dialogue. Verity is a kick-ass heroine and proves that you can still fight off the baddies in high heels.
One thing i loved about the prequels was the Aeslin Mice, who turn everything into a religious celebration. I was glad to see them back. I mean, who doesn't want to celebration "The Holy Feast Of I Swear, Daddy, I'll Kiss The Next Man That Walks Through That Door" !!

I can't really think of much else to say, the plot is easy to follow, the characters are likable and the writing is great. I have already imported my copy of the sequel and can't wait to start that too and hope that McGuire will publish some more prequels too. 

"One Hell Of A Ride", "No Place Like Home" and "Married In Green" are all available on Seanan's website and follow the lives of Verity's Great Grandparents.