Basilisk and Chimera by Rob Thurman

I'm going to cheat and just post links to my reviews...enjoyed both books immensely.  Read them in order, it does make a difference.

Ms. Thurman was in a serious accident but is thankfully home and recovering according to her website.  I wish her a speedy recovery and hope for more of her wonderful tales as soon as she can crank them out!

Chimera  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7062980-chimera


  Basilisk:  http://www.nightowlscifi.com/nor/Reviews/ELF-reviews-Basilisk-by-Rob-Thurman.aspx

The Elder Race Series

I have really enjoyed the first three books in the "Elder Races Series" by Thea Harrison.  She has a refreshing perspective on certain mythological creatures such as dragons, vampires and griffins and each book has spotlighted a different aspect of these fascinating creatures.  The most recent is Serpent's Kiss and delves into the aging process of vampires with glimpses into the politics of that world.  My favorite thus far is still the first in the series, Dragon Bound, just because it appeals to my own sense of obsession and gives insight into a dragon's love for his/her hoard.  My review of Serpent's Kiss for Night Owl Reviews can be found at:  http://www.nightowlparanormal.com/nor/Reviews/ELF-reviews-Serpents-Kiss-by-Thea-Harrison.aspx

I am a little behind in my review books and have two due in the next two days so will probably be unable to post for the next couple of days as other obligations will take precedence so my apologies, I will try to compensate next week by catching up on some of the reviews that have been neglected for awhile.  Happy reading!

Split Second

Split Second by Catherine Coulter is another of her stories that combines the mystical with the hard-boiled realism of the FBI and the horrendous cases it deals with.  It is always heartwarming to get a glimpse of the deep love and adoration that exists between Savitch and Sherlock and their adorable son.  The three different mysteries are deftly interwoven even as the intriguing legacy that Carlyle inherits exacts its own form of payment.  An interesting look at the potential handicaps that agents face when trying to apprehend their perpetrator even while trying to protect the innocent (or not so innocent) bystanders.  An enjoyable and suspenseful read as usual.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9485701-split-second

I always enjoy reading Ms. Coulter’s work and I think that it is partly because her heroines have smart mouths (much like myself), no matter what genre she is writing in.  They tend to snap out a comeback without filtering it and often get themselves in trouble  but their sunny personalities tend to redeem them.  Many people are disturbed by the psychic elements that seem to be permeating the series but I think that is what helps set them apart from other romantic suspense tales.  I am not positive that I would have had the strength to make the same decision that Lucy does by the end of the book but I certainly understand her reasoning.  Anyway, I really enjoyed the tale and look forward to many more.

Release, Fetish, When Alex Was Bad and wasting Time

Ok...it was that kind of a weekend.  I have a task that I hate doing that I have procrastinated taking care of until the absolutely last possible moment.  So, of course, the plan was to spend the entire weekend taking care of it.  Ha ha!  Of course I jinxed myself when I posted in another blog that I hadn't been having my infrequent migraines.  I get an aura before they start, somewhat like the heat waves you can see shimmering off of hot pavement...and it grows until it begins to interfere with my vision...so I know that the intense pain in my head is about to show up.  Therefore, I was not very pleased to have that appear yesterday morning as I was starting my day.  I quickly took my medication and went back to bed and was pleasantly surprised to wake up with only a mild headache that, although annoying, was not incapacitating.  I didn't want to jump up and push my luck, so I read instead...yes, the minute I can focus, I read.  Why do you think the blog is called the "addict" and not the fan or aficionado?  Of course, the day was pretty much wasted by the time I was done so I figured, with true procrastinator's logic, better to start fresh today.  Unfortunately today was a replay of yesterday with the leftover headache being a little worse (which means it's a problem as I try to take care of the laundry or do anything else which increases pressure in my head like coughing or laughing).  Oh well, we'll practice mind over matter tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I went on an erotica rampage...I actually had read Release by Beth Kery a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised.  I have not read her works before but she can write a smoking love scene and she has a nice touch with the suspense element as well.  My only complaint is that I don't really like obtuse heroines and Genny is a bit slow to realize the danger that she is in for my tastes.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9027227-release

Fetish by Sherri L. King is a bit of a fluffy erotica tale combining an overweight woman and her search for her sexuality.  It's an adequate light read with some sensual scenes.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/362384.Fetish

When Alex Was Bad by Jo Davis is a bit hotter than her Firefighters series and was quite an enjoyable erotic read even though I personally was not impressed by their solution to a troubled marriage.  That said, the characters and scenes were hot and it was an entertaining story.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6006369-when-alex-was-bad

Perceptions and Seduce Me In Flames

I have what is probably an overdeveloped sense of personal space meaning that I don't really like people too close to me.  Of course, once I get to know someone the space shrinks somewhat but it is a quirk left over from childhood traumas.  I was waiting in line for a free concert sponsored by the local jazz radio station and sitting on the floor, reading a book (of course), did not want to be stepped on by the gentlemen in front of me and left a three foot space between us since I was waiting for my husband and mother-in-law to join me.  There was no rush since the doors wouldn't open for another 90 minutes so people were wandering off to eat dinner, including a pair of couples who were directly behind me and asked the woman behind them to save their place.  A security guard came by about 20 minutes later and told me that I couldn't sit on the floor (a surprise to me since it's the first time they have told me this and I have been to this place 3 times prior) and I was startled to hear the woman behind me exclaim "good!".  I, of course, stood up in the same spot that I had been sitting, i.e., I didn't move forward.  About 15 minutes later, this selfsame woman began verbally attacking me because she wanted me to move forward...I was flabbergasted!  She tried to enforce her desires by standing 4 inches away from me with her back to me, close enough that she was leaning on the book that I was holding in my hand!  I felt like I was dealing with a 2 year old.   Her response to anything I said was to hold her hand up in front of my face and tell me that she didn't want to hear it, to "shh"...what in the world does one do when something like that happens?  Her perception was that I was unfairly holding space.  Mine was that she was getting all bent out of shape for nothing...we weren't going anywhere for at least an hour and her closing up any empty spaces was a ludicrous operation since at least 6 more bodies (my 2 and the two missing couples) would still have to fit into the area.  I am not normally a physical person but I was sorely tempted to smack her...except, that would have meant that I would miss the concert and my husband wouldn't know where to find me.  Well, it did a nice job of raising my blood pressure and my poor husband got to hear my harangue as soon as he showed up to exchange places with me so I could go change.  He of course, ended up chatting amicably with the crazy woman's husband briefly.  (Which leads me to the difference in perception between men and women since he didn't understand why that annoyed me as well).  So what was the big deal?  Was her perception that I was taking up more space than I should have?  Is it like the freeways where I think I am following the 3 second rule and leaving enough space to brake in unforeseen circumstances while other idiots (excuse me, I mean drivers) see that as space to cut in?  I am sure that each of us thinks the other is a jerk and this is over as about a trivial a circumstance as is possible.  Now magnify that into people in positions of extreme power...it's frightening, isn't it?
Anyway, that leads me to Jacquelyn Frank's Seduce Me in Flames, the sequel to her novel, Seduce Me in Dreams.  It occurs to me that I forgot to review that one as well.  The main character is a Tarian.  The female lead is a princess in a land that considers Tarians barbarians and savages.  He thinks she must be some protected royal being divorced from reality.  Part of the growth in their relationship is getting past the perceptions and learning about their true natures...but of course, that is the essential part of any relationship, isn't it?  Anyway, it was an enjoyable read despite a few inconsistencies (I thought the uncle acted out of character at the end and there was something about a weapon/undiscovered threat close to the princess which must have been a red herring because I don't recall finding out who/what it was). I will definitely look for the next in the series as soon as I can work my way through some of my TBRs.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9670065-seduce-me-in-flames

Coping with bad things and Vampire Instinct

Vampire Instinct is not a read for the faint of heart but fans of Joey Hill already know of her penchant for dark sexual tales filled with BDSM elements.  It continues the saga of characters introduced in the story of Dev and Lady Daniela (Danny) (A Vampire's Claim) but after even more horrific acts have been perpetrated by the fledgling vampires created by Ruskin and his cronies.  Readers should be aware that there are multiple rapes and severe violent crimes described in addition to the “normal” kinky activities associated with multi-vampire meetings in this series but there is also a very emotional tale conveyed which centers around coping with inconceivable trauma as everyone tries to help Elisa and because of her, the remaining fledglings as well.  The decision to send them all to an island where they come under the supervision of a relatively young made vampire named Malachi is tempered by the knowledge that this is a last-ditch effort to salvage the fledglings and by extension, their champion Elisa.  Malachi has himself been damaged by his past and has carved out a niche where he is able to isolate himself with those he is comfortable around and rehabilitate the wild felids that he has rescued.  He has a ruthless determination that is ill-prepared for the deceptively weak and mild-mannered human that accompanies the potentially irredeemable fledglings.  The epic battles between the two as they find an unexpected solace in each other are entertaining and enlightening.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9530571-vampire-instinct

Each of us has had bad things happen to us, some of us have experienced more horrific traumas than others but it is how we have coped that shapes us as individuals.  Sometimes there is a multistage process that continues to percolate over the years and sometimes we are arrested at one phase...whether it be avoidance, resentment, acceptance, ongoing pain or any other of the myriad of responses.  Sometimes scars are physical and sometimes they are non-tangible but real nevertheless.  Our support system is invaluable and it can be an additional burden if we don’t have anyone to help bring us out of the darkness that we can fall into but it is important to realize that ultimately, we have to decide for ourselves how we are going to respond.  A beautiful quote in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Retribution is ascribed to the Tsalagi, and reminds us that “you should never allow your yesterday to use up too much of today.  The past is gone and tomorrow is at best a maybe.  Live for this moment because it may be all you’ll ever have. “  I think that this reminds us that we have to decide for ourselves whether we are going to allow things that have been done to us to swallow up our future or whether we will make the decision to live each day to its fullest potential and go on from where we are at this moment.

Levels of gratitude and Earl of Darkness

I am grateful for multiplicities of things every day...from the little things such as being able to move around without significant soreness (having had severe neck pain problems in the past it is always great to not need to visit the chiropractor in order to turn my head), absence of my intermittent migraines, appreciation for having air conditioning in 100+ degree summer heat, having a roof over my head and food in the house, my life...the list could go on forever.  I am humbled by the fact that one of the soldiers that I have met through the website anysoldier.com thinks that she should be grateful to me.  I read that she and her fellow soldiers are tolerating heat that is 120 during the day with lows that are in the 90s and I feel that I should quit whining about it being summer in the high desert.

I became acquainted with her because she has started a library to give some of our brave soldiers paperbacks to read.  I sent her a couple of boxes of books and read about some of the other items that were being requested therefore I sent a small care package as well.  This brave woman is unable to see her family for months on end, has no store to run out and pick up a few things from when she runs out of toothpaste or shampoo and faces her conditions with cheerful tolerance.  She told me that she volunteers at a cheetah rescue facility and the picture on this blog is one of those that she sent me.  When I thanked her for sharing the pictures, she told me that this was the least she could do!  Such humility...from someone who shows us the meaning of selflessness and sacrifice.  And what do they ask for?  Snack cakes, something called Swedish fish...and dark colored hairbands (which, I discovered, are harder to find in local stores than I had expected).  I am humbled by making her acquaintance and by the knowledge that she is one of multitudes that make it safer for us to live our lives as we do.  I encourage others to take the time to adopt a pen pal and share good thoughts even if your circumstances don't allow you to send goody boxes.

Earl of Darkness by Alix Rickloff is the beginning of a series which combines the concept of humans with Fey blood and a plan to bring King Arthur back.  It starts with an earl who is desperately trying to save his estate and recoup his finances by marrying a rich bride.  An unreadable diary which is about to be stolen by a female burglar seems to be the key to the plan and causes the earl to become distracted by the one person who is able to read the diary, the burglar herself.  I am glad that I read the second book in the series first because I would have been really reluctant to do so given the horrendous villain named Lazarus who is introduced here and featured in the second book.  I couldn't establish a rapport with the main characters in this book because the hero is terribly hardheaded, has no qualms about establishing a sexual liaison with someone he has no intentions of marrying and is quite willing to force her to help him whether she is willing or not and the heroine is complicit in her own downfall even as she repeats her patterns but is singularly ineffectual at pretty much everything. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7841647-earl-of-darkness