Burning Alive is the first book in the paranormal Sentinel Wars series by romance author Shannon K Butcher. It follows heroine Helen as she finds out she is not just an average human, but one of the few remaining demon-hunting Theronai women, capable of wielding great magic against the monsters invading the earth, and saving one of the Theronai heroes from the torture of containing his magic.
Sex, Lies and Vampires isn’t my first experience with Katie MacAlister’s work, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. MacAlister writes very comic, steamy romances (and steampunk, and young adult novels, and, and…) and this one is no different. It’s one in her Dark Ones series of loosely-connected paranormal romances populated with vamps, summoners, poltergeists and mummies, just to name a few.
Don’t read any review of this book that would give you any ideas about its plot! Just read it and enjoy it for what it is and for how it unfolds. And then go back and read it again. Continue reading →
The Foreshadowing - Marcus Sedgwick
Allen & Unwin Dolphin, 2006
278 pages
RRP: AU$14.95
ISBN: 1-84255-517-0
Reviewed by Kate Smith
The Foreshadowing is set in Britain and France during the years of World War One and tells the story of Alexandra Fox, a young woman born into a middle-class, well-regarded family during those years. Having seen future deaths at different moments since the age of five, Alexandra must cope with what these mean, with the fact that her family refuse to acknowledge that she has this ability, and with the ongoing World War that is changing her world and her family. After the death of her older brother, Alexandra decides that she cannot accept her vision of her other brother’s death and finds her way to France to try to save him from the fate she has seen. In order to finally reach him she is aided by a dispatch rider who also has visions of impending deaths. Continue reading →
Dream Warrior is a story set among the ancient pantheon of the Olympian Gods who still exist in the modern day. With war breaking out, the ancient Greek gods have to look to an individual they exiled thousands of years ago, Cratus, for help. It comes down to a defender of dreams, Delphine, to try to convince this god not to join the side of dark and to fight for those who have persecuted him for six thousand years. In this process he learns to trust and she learns to embrace emotions she has never experienced before.
How to Ditch Your Fairy - Justine Larbalestier
Allen & Unwin, 2009
298 pages
RRP: AU$17.95
ISBN: 978-1-74175-737-8
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
How to Ditch Your Fairy is different from the other novels I’ve read from Justine Larbalestier. It’s written in the same conversational, easy-to-read style, but the world it inhabits is more removed from our own, where a person’s luck is attributed to their personal fairy. Charlie, the heroine of this novel, is saddled with a parking fairy who ensures a perfect parking spot no matter whose car she is in. This is quite annoying for her as she a) doesn’t have a license yet and b) hates cars! Her mission is to get rid of her fairy and aquire another one, hence the title of the novel.
Succubus in the City - Nina Harper
Hachette Livre Piatkus, 2009
392 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN: 978-0-7499-2922-0
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
Succubus in the City is an interesting take on the paranormal romance genre. As the title indicates, it’s a play on Sex and the City, but our four gal-pals are demons in the service of Herself, Satan. Lily, the protagonist, is a succubus whose job is to deliver men’s souls to the devil by having sex with them. In return, she has the perfect life: lots of money, great flat, and a fabulous face and figure that she won’t lose, no matter how many servings of dessert she indulges in. In this story though, she’s starting to feel lonely and wants more than the one night she has with the men she picks up before they turn into a pile of dust on the sheets.
As a reader with an adoration of stories which make me question what is real, and as a musician with a hankering for experimentation, this book had swallowed me whole within the first twenty pages. I hadn’t read any books by Tricia Sullivan before and on the few occasions that I’d closed the book I was having to wipe a few spots of drool off the back cover as I eyed the thumbnails of two of her other novels, making plans to order these sometime soon.
The story of the life of the Wicked Witch of the West is a very intesting premise for a number of reasons. The Wizard of Oz is an iconic story in our culture and has been made reference to in many other forms of text, including television, over the years. Whole cartoons have been based around it and single lines have become part of standard communication. Tapping into that interest while adding to the story and at the same time giving readers a chance to think about how people become who they are always stood a good chance of success. The author has not failed in this.
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Burning Alive - Shannon K Butcher
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