The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

Sadie and Carter Kane are back in this second novel in the Kane Chronicles.  This time, Apophis is about to break free and the only way to save the world is to awaken Ra.  Told in alternating voices between the brother and sister, the Throne of Fire is just an engrossing at the first book in the series.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I enjoy the Egyptian gods and goddesses and you learn even more about Egyptian mythology in this tale, in between the near death experiences that is.

Sadie and Carter are incredibly likeable and we get to meet Bes, the god of dwarves who wears a blue speedo.  Don’t ask.  Like Riordan’s other tales, this one starts and ends with action.  However, he still manages to do a good job with character development.  The funniest part in the book, for me at least, is when Carter mentions the fact that they are not supposed to go to Manhattan because there is something there they are not supposed to get involved with.  Of course for Percy Jackson fans, they know exactly what that is!

The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

  Maya is about to turn 16.  She lives in a small town surrounded by national forest.  Her life is pretty good.  But soon she starts to discover unsettling secrets thanks to a new boy in town.  She wants to go on in blissful ignorance, but she cannot deny the truth anymore.  This is the first book in a new trilogy.  Again another spin off for teens on the Women of the Otherworld series.  I really enjoyed it although I always want the characters from her adult fantasy to show up in her YA fantasy.  It should be an interesting trilogy, focusing less on the demons and more on the shapeshifters.

Demon Song by Cat Adams

Celia is a bodyguard with a penchant for blood after being bitten by a vampire.  But when she finds herself faced with the possibility of the end of the world, she gather her friends to fight the demons of the underworld.  She is also half siren and is still coming to terms with her heritage.  So of course she ends up being the one who must use a mythical conch to seal the rift between the realms back up.  A great story with lots of history to back it up.  I really enjoyed Celia.

Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen V. Wasylowski

Since I try to read all but the most awful of P&P sequels, I had to read this one.  It was fabulous.  It shows the first year of Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage which is delightful.  But even better, we get to know Darcy’s cousin, Fitzwilliam and delve more into the relationship between the two.  We also get Fitzwilliam’s love story which is just wonderful.    It was a wonderfully well done story and I think it may be one that I will re-read from time to time.

Moon Cursed by Lori Handeland

Awesome book about the Loch Ness Monster.  Man by night, monster by day, Liam has been cursed for his past and must live without ever knowing love.  It is kind of a reverse Little Mermaid tale.  Kristin Daniels is a reporter bound to uncover the Loch Ness hoax for her TV Show, Hoax Hunters.  What she doesn’t expect to do is fall in love with the Loch Ness Monster and support his need to hide.  A cleverly told tale with a mystery thrown in for good measure.

Marked by the Moon by Lori Handeland

I read the first book in one of Handeland’s other series and wasn’t overly impressed, but I loved this series.  Alex is a werewolf hunter, but when she is changed into a werewolf by the husband of a were she killed, she is in for a shock.  Not all werewolves are created equal and Alex is going to find out that not every were is a horrible killer.  But, just when she starts getting used to being a werewolf and starts to get a handle on her feelings for the man who changed her, a murdered comes to start picking off the humans.  A werewolf murderer.  Suddenly Alex starts to doubt whether werewolves can be civilized.  But she joins in to hunt the rogue werewolf.

Green Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

This book reminded me a bit of Harry Dresden but with a female protagonist.  Sabina is half vampire half mage.  And, after her sister is kidnapped by their grandmother, Sabina is bound and determined to rescue her sister and kill her grandmother.  Full of action, romance, and a bit of mystery, this was a fast paced urban fantasy book that will leave you reading as quickly as you can to find out the ending.  A solid book.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Galdwell is a very intriguing writer.  The Tipping Point was interesting and I enjoyed listening to it.  It talks about viral marketing and mavericks and even a little about Columbine.  What I enjoy most is the research angle of how he deduces some of his points.  While I do not always agree with what he says, I think he makes a convincing argument for many of his points.  One of the points that will definitely stick with me is the broken window syndrome.  If one window on  a block is broken, it will encourage others to be broken and soon the neighborhood will take a turn for the worse.  However, maybe it is because I listen to his books on audio, I feel like he tends to wander a bit.  It seems as though he jumps from topic to topic, which is fine, but I don’t ever feel like he ties them all back together.  Which is not to say that it is not interesting, but it does not send as strong a message as I think it could.

The Shy Duchess by Amanda McCabe

Lady Emaily Carroll is very VERY shy, but everything thinks she is an ice queen.  When she is thrust into a marriage with Nicholas, she finds that she can finally be herself.  Nicholas is astonished to discover that he really likes his new wife and that she is no Ice Queen.  But events conspire to keep them apart and they must learn to trust each other before they can truly be happy.

To Desire a Wicked Duke by Nicole Jordan

Sweet historical romance book about a woman who thinks she will never love again.  Tess finds herself in a compromising position with her nemesis, the Duke of Rotham.  Forced to wed, Tess is convinced they can live separately.  What she doesn’t know is that Ian has long wanted to court her and now that he has her he is not willing to give her up.  With ghosts, a mystery, and some truly well-developed characters, this book is a delightful historical romance.