Shiftless by Aimee Easterling
Forget the full moon, female werewolves shift uncontrollably at that time of the month. But after years of practice, teenaged Terra learns to squash her wolf, which allows her to flee the repressive village where she grew up.
A decade later, Terra realizes she has an even worse problem. After hiding from her wolf for so long, she is now shiftless, unable to change back into canine form.
When her father shows up with an ultimatum, Terra knows she'll have to learn to shift or return to her place in her family's pack. Will Wolfie, a nearby alpha who's more wolf than man, be a stumbling block in Terra's quest to maintain her freedom?
As Terra struggles to escape two werewolf packs that seem poised to suck her back in, the real question becomes --- does she really want to stay away?
Rate & take
A solid first book from a new author that I hope to see more from. The ending sure felt like it left an opening for further adventures so I may get my wish. I will say part of this plot felt a little too easily resolved but we can chalk that up to learning the ropes. I find it enjoyable when I can read a new author over several books and see how they blossom as a writer. I think that will be the case with this author as well. This author also gets points from me for mentioning another author from the same genre, Patricia Briggs, who I enjoy very much.
Golem in My Glovebox by R.L. Naquin
In her role as Aegis, Zoey Donovan has rescued and cared for hundreds of monsters and mythical creatures. Now humans are the ones in need of her help. Someone with a personal vendetta against the Board of Hidden Affairs has kidnapped all the other Aegises in the country--including Zoey's mother.
With the Hidden government in shambles and a string of deadly clues to follow, Zoey and her reaper boyfriend set out on a cross-country chase to stop the kidnapper from killing the captured Aegises. Along the way, they pick up a miniature golem who's on a quest to find his humanity...and may be the key to solving the grisly clues.
If Zoey succeeds in defeating this new evil, she'll finally be reunited with the mother she lost over twenty years ago. But if she fails, she'll become the final victim.
Rate & take
I was so excited to find out this was not the last book in the series, I just can't let this wonderful cast of characters go yet, I want more!! The many people and creatures that inhabit this story (with often witty banter) keep me coming back for more. This addition I will say wasn't quite working up to its full colorful plot as I have seen from the first three books. However I think this book may be laying the ground work for the final book and that may explain some of the lack of spark. Still in all a good book to tuck into.
Hammered by Kevin Hearne
Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.
One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.
Rate & take
*
I went for the cheap title and can't apologize, it was just too easy. But I think it is forgivable since said hammer belongs to Thor.
This is book three in the Iron Druid series and continues on a solid course. The beginning of the book threw me for a bit because it jumped right into a mission only talked about in book two as an, 'I really need to do this in the next few months'. Once passed this part of the book I felt I really settled in and began to enjoy myself again.
Hexed by Kevin Hearne
Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty--when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.
With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.
Rate & take
I'm still enjoying the series but I find (and maybe I'm alone in this oddity of mine)
myself wishing the main character could have some fun and R & R before the battle armor has to be donned. Or even time for a nice conversation over a cup of tea, which he makes in his bookstore so its not much of a stretch.
The precise reason I enjoyed book one a bit more was because there was less action and a lot more getting to know the everyday world of the character. This book has lots of strife and obstacles to stare down (which keeps a plot interesting) but keeps me a nervous Nelly. Putting all my reading peculiarities aside this is some solid, entertaining, writing. For fans in the know, I liken the readability of these books to Jim Butcher's series, The Dresden Files.
Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old--when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power--plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish--to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.
Rate & take
*
I'm no good with the jokes but I could not resist this line and also to highlight a plot point that I found especially amusing. As you might guess, the Vampire handles the evening legal business and the Werewolf handles the day business. A great business model and very valuable to a druid who could and does find need of such twenty-four hour services. The suits are not a large part of this story but certainly add more color to an already colorful cast of god's, monster's, demon's, and witches who rarely peacefully coexist under the Arizona skies. Oh, and did I mention our main character owns a bookshop??? That sells tea and other fun things? The cool factor abounds in this read, as does the entertainment. That is why I just started reading book two in the series. This time I was lucky enough to find a series that is already well established in number published. Happy reading to me!!
Stone Cold by Devon Monk
Marked by Life and Death magic, Shame Flynn and Terric Conley are “breakers”—those who can use magic to its full extent. Most of the time, they can barely stand each other, but they know they have to work together to defeat a common enemy—rogue magic user Eli Collins.
Backed by the government, Eli is trying to use magic as a weapon by carving spells into the flesh of innocents and turning them into brainless walking bombs. To stop him, Shame and Terric will need to call on their magic, even as it threatens to consume them—because the price they must pay to wield Life and Death could change the very fate of the world...and magic itself.
Rate & take
This is a spin off book from the Allie Beckstrom series, that I was sad to see come to an end last year. I adore the wise cracking Shame and knew I had to read this and bonus I got a chance to visit with the whole gang once again. Somehow I missed book one as this title is listed as book two (and final book in this story line) but let's keep that between us, I would not want to loose my Epic Reader street cred over my faux pas. This book read very well as a stand alone so I don't feel inclined to back track to book one.
Now the review. For the first 10% of the book I thought it was either that I'd lost the thread of the characters or the author had written a very one dimensional story. Now that I have finished the book I think it was a deliberate writing tool used to highlight how rough things really were at the opening of our story. Once I got over this first bit I'm sure I did a big internal WHEW! when I realized my lovely friends were as great as I remembered them and the author hadn't lost her s#*! after all. Great reading fun all the way round.
The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd
And 1/2 
