Books!

Short and sweet today....

Magic Bites and Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

If you like Urban Fantasy then you should definitely get these books. I loved the unique take on vampires, the idea that magic and technology can not exist at the same time, and the mystery surrounding Kate's abilities. Lots of great characters that I look forward to learning more about and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of book 3 Magic Strikes at the end of the month. BONUS: Book 1 is available for $1.99 at Amazon with free super shipping.

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb

Another good entry in the "In Death" series. This time the the villain was a little flat for me, I pegged who it was the first time the character showed up. I liked the continued growth of friendship between Eve and Peabody also the growth of trust and love between the newly married Eve and Roarke.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

I'm not sure about this book. Overall I enjoyed it, but very often I found myself mentally yelling at Izzy (the main character) to grow up already. I got tired of her juvenile behavior early on. The overall dysfunctionality (yep I made that word up) of her family was entertaining but not very likable. The vast majority of book is character development and only in the last 1/3 of the book does anything really happen plot wise or having really anything to do with the actual mystery. Also the big "reveal" in the solving of her case and the disappearance of her sister was absolutely no surprise to me in the least, it was exactly what I figured had happened. The book is billed to be a zany and humorous mystery a la Stephanie Plum but for me the humour and the mystery just wasn't there.

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

A total winner for me. Set between France and England during the Napoleonic Wars about two field agents on opposite sides. Annique Villiers has been a field operative for France all her life. Her Mother (recently deceased) was also a great spy and Annique has known nothing else. She finds herself in a terrible position having knowledge of Napoleon's plans to invade England (thanks to her photographic memory) that will most likely get her killed or at the very least be branded a traitor. She is thrown into a dungeon that just so happens to be also holding two English field operatives, one of which is Robert Grey the head of the English Section. Annique devises a plan that enables them to escape but in turn Grey kidnaps her believing her to be behind the murder of three of his agents and also wants her knowledge of Napoleon's planned invasion. What follows is an exciting adventure of deception, murder and intrigue. Bourne included a lot of detail about what it meant to be a spy and what they actually did during that time period. This is not the type of book where the spies sit around in parlors sipping tea or the female uses her immense beauty or "assets" to get the man to talk. These spies are extremely intelligent, dangerous and not afraid to get dirty. Outstanding read (although I found the ending to be a little lacking. I would have enjoyed a little epilogue), I would recommend it it to anyone. I am planning on getting her followup novel My Lord and Spymaster as soon as possible.