Top 5 Sundays #41 - Best Book Sidekicks!

Ah, sidekicks. They aren't the ones to save the day or get the girl and if a villain targets them it's more because the villain's looking for an indirect strike against the hero than as a proactive move against a real threat. Yup, it's a hard role, that of the sidekick, but also more important than you'd think. After all, When you're not being held captive or threatened, you're supporting the hero (or heroes) in a whole slew of ways, including emotionally, physically, and, yup, even comically. Not everyone can be a sidekick, it takes a special kind of person, one with the sort of personality that can shine through to the bright side even when tied to a chair with a sword blade to their throat.

Which brings us to this week's Top 5 Best Book Sidekicks!

#5 - Finn Lane from The Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep

He's not just Gin's brother, he's her source for all the gossip and cold hard facts she could ever hope for on her targets, a crack shot, and better-than-reliable back-up. Add to that the fact that Finn well and truly understands his sister, that he supports her unconditionally yet isn't afraid to call her on her BS and, really, what more could a first class assassin ask for?

#4 - Ilianna and Tao from The Dark Angels series by Keri Arthur

I could tell you about how this trio has a awesome relationship of many forms; they're business partners in a restaurant, they're roommates, they're friends, they're family. I could tell you about how they have complimentary skill sets and a stronger-than-steel bond. But, really, what makes Ilianna and Tao such great sidekicks is their willingness to have Coca Cola at the ready when Risa returns from a hard day of butt kicking.

#3 - Jess, Marc, Tina, Sinclair, Nick, Antonia, Garrett and more from Betsy Taylor, Vampire Queen series by Maryjanice Davidson

In the beginning, it was just Betsy and her best friend Jess. Then she saved Marc from his almost-suicide. And then she fell in love Sinclair who came as a matched set with his majordomo Tina. And then the werewolves found out about her and sent one of their own, Antonia, as a sort of ambassador-cum-babysitter-cum-spy. And  then Antonia fell in love with Garrett, a slowly recovering vamp savage. And then Jess got together with Nick. And on it went until her house had more in common with the Hotel California than 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

#2 - Cookie from Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones

Technically, she's Charlie's assistant. And next door neighbour. And best friend. And cheerleader. And fan club president. And alibi. Okay, so the list goes on a bit long. Putting up with a boss/friend/neighbour/so on who is the Grim Reaper and frequently targeted for death is no easy thing, but Cookie pulls it off superbly.

#1 - Pony from Elfhome series by Wen Spencer

When he first pops up in  the first book, he's just a random elf assigned to guard the newly elfin Tinker. By the book's end, however, he's become so much more, willingly binding himself to Tinker in ways that are still being made clear two books later. He's an awesome blend of big brother, best friend, and sexual tension, all wrapped up in a pretty package with a gooey, golden-hearted centre.

Top 5 Sundays #39 - Favourite Female Book Characters

The heroes makes us swoon, no question, but more often than not it's the heroine who gives the story its voice, who acts as our eyes and ears within a story, who we most relate with. Her sarcasm, humour, seriousness, and opinions set the tone for the story and can be the difference between a reader connecting with a book and get stuck on the outside. And, of course, we all have our favourites.

So, without further adieu, I present this week's Top 5 - my favourite female book characters.

#5 - Risa Jones (of Keri Arthur's Dark Angels series)

She's snarky, she's powerful, she's loyal, she's kickass, she's brave, she's unbelievably complicated and the best part of all? She's addicted to Coca Cola. She drinks it like other people drink coffee and, OMG, she has her friends trained to pour her glasses of coke following any emotional upheaval or  bad guy skirmish. That alone is an incredible feat - I can barely train mine to keep an emergency bottle in their fridge, should I drop by. That's a heroine anyone can get behind!

#4 - MacKayla Lane (of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series)

She starts off a bubbly, sun-loving, fun-loving blonde and over the course of the book she's...well, she's like a blade being forged in fired; she goes through hell, literally in several instances, and comes out the stronger for it. She's not as bubbly at series end - suffice to say the darkness has rubbed off her more than a bit - but she's still sun-loving and fun-loving and, hey, even blonde. She's a real inspiration on several levels.

#3 - Jane True (of Nicole Peeler's Jane True series)

From the beginning, Jane has been a woman who has been confident about her own identity. Sure, she has an intricate support system and she may not believe herself capable of saving the world, but when it comes to who she is - and what she is - Jane is a character who makes no apologies and simply is as she is, take her or leave her. I took her. She's worth it.

#2 - Kate Daniels (of Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series)

She's the daughter of a man so powerful that he's been worshiped as a god more than once over the centuries. She's the spouse of a man who can take the form of a prehistoric lion and who leads a pack of almost two thousand shapeshifters. She's sent gods running with their tail between their legs, or at least those gods she let live. She's got buckets of attitude, loads of spunk, and enough power to cow the powerful...and somehow still ends up in situations you would've have thought toddlers knew to avoid. Epic.

#1 - Charley Davidson (of Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series)

She's the Grim Reaper - a lost soul magnet and portal to Heaven. Every demon this side of Hell wants to get their hands on her, every other ghost wants her help in some way or another, and her love life? Well, her love interest in the son of Satan. Need more be said? What I love most about her though is her sense of humour and the healthy helping of sarcasm that comes along with it. Charley, simply put, is the most-like-me character I've ever read...super powers aside.

Top 5 Sundays #24 - Series or Author That Make You Forget/Ignore Your TBR!

This week's topic on Top 5 Sundays are those series and authors I just can't wait for and absolutely, positively MUST read just as soon as I can, to hell with what other books might be waiting! This is probably something any bibliophile can relate to - heck, anyone who has ever waited in line for admittance to a night club can relate. Sometimes, no matter how good you look, someone (or something) else for one reason or another simply jumps ahead.

Here's my Top 5 and the reasons why; hope you enjoy!

#5 - MetaWars series by Kelly Meding

The interesting thing about this series is that it reads like a comic book. The plot is simple: a group of young adults suddenly have their former powers return to them after they mysteriously vanished fifteen years earlier and decide to band together to rebuild the tarnished reputation superheroes have incurred since the aftermath of the last great hero/villain super match. What really distinguishes these books, however, are two things. Firstly, the stories actually bother to deal with the collateral damage incited by superheroes doing battle with the villains in the middle of major city centres. Secondly, the characters are amazingly well written with complex histories, distinct personalities and engaging dynamics. It's like The Justice League meets The Middleman and too good to wait any longer than absolutely necessary!

#4 - Monère: Children of the Moon series by Sunny

These books are not that long when it comes to the number of pages between their covers. When it comes to the plot, however, these books are jammed packed, using every word, every scene for all it is worth and just when you think everything's over, that's when the story flips. Take the first book; just when you think everything's settled, a car accident orphans Mona Lisa's brother. Among the book's other points: Mona Lisa learns she's only half human and, oh yeah, a Queen, falls in love, finds and meets her birth mother, acquires two  indentured servants, is introduced to a high court, meets the prince of Hell, loses her lover, gets kidnapped, falls in love again, escapes her kidnappers, exposes another Queen's treachery, and regains her lover. And that's only the first half of the book. Now imagine five books just as bursting with activity. Yup. It's like that.

#3 - Undead/Betsy Taylor series by MaryJanice Davidson

I have never managed to get through one of these books without laughing. Betsy is a self-absorbed, shoe-obsessed air head who somehow landed  herself the job of vampire queen. Needless to say, hilarity ensues. Among my favourite adventures to date are Betsy's trip through time with her Satan spawned sister and unraveling the mystery of her zombified friend while coping with a total lack of help from her visiting future self. Wild times, man, wild times.

#2 - Charley Davidson series by  Darlynda Jones

Another hilarious narrative but in a totally different manner. There's something about Charley's tone and thoughts that reminds me of my own making for a narration I find beyond easy to relate to. Toss in ghosts, demons and one hell of a hunky son of Satan and the only bad thing about this series is the unbelieveably torturous wait between book releases.

#1 - Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

This series has everything - a sarcastic, crazy heroine whose powerful and kickass but has a heart, a domineering, control-freak alpha whose not afraid to let his devotion show, an extend cast of developed and distinct secondary characters, compelling and intricate mysteries that draw on mythologies and history from around the world and an overreaching story plot that progresses and deepens with each book. Add in the fast paced and engaging writing and, really, there's no question why these books jump the line.

Top 5 Sundays #14 - Super Powers You'd Love to Have for a Day

Confession time: when I was little, my sister and I would spend a great deal of time playing in imaginary worlds, a great number of which we'd borrow from television, movies, and books. We were MIB agents. We were X-Men. We were monster hunters. We were witches. The list goes on. My point, however, is that I've had quite a bit of experience wishing for super powers of one kind or another. Needless to say, therefore, that my biggest problem with this week's Top 5 was narrowing it down to only five; especially five I would want to borrow for just one day!

But enough of my blathering. Without further ado, I give you Calliope's Domain's Top 5 Super Powers You'd Love to Have for a Day!

#5 - Trance's shields and orbs - Kelly Meding's Metawars series

Once upon a time, Theresa West could instill thoughts and emotions into another person's mind through eye contact. Then super powers the world over disappeared. Fast forward fifteen years and without warning super powers return. Suddenly, Theresa's powers get one hell of an upgrade; in lieu of her former trance-like powers, she finds herself able to create protective force fields and conjure explosive energy orbs to her hand. Sure, it took some time to get a handle on these new powers, but, dang, do they prove useful, especially for a superhero!

#4 - Mercy's coyote shifting - Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series

Unlike her werewolf friends who take fifteen minutes of painful contortion to shift shape, Mercy's shift to coyote form is painless and instantaneous. Not to mention that once shifted, coyote Mercy has the speed and agility going on that even the wolves can't compete with. Plus, plus, and, and this lovely power also comes complete with a bunch of frills - like immunity to certain magics and the ability to chat with the dead - that even Mercy is just beginning to discover. Heck, even the vamps want to give her a wide berth - at least since killing her isn't an option. What's not to love about that?

#3 - Kate's power words - Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series

 With one word (mind you, not the same word), Kate can slice and dice undead giants, destroy indestructible swords, and bring whole armies to their knees. Admittedly, acquiring said words isn't exactly a cakewalk and using them can be more than a little draining...but there's something to be said for a one word take down that goes literal on the take down part.

#2 - Charley's Reaper abilities - Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson Series

She sees dead people. She's a portal to Heaven. She has more gifts she's only just beginning to discover and understand. She's like the Melinda Gordon (Ghost Whisperer) meets Dawn Summers  (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) with the son of Satan as her very own personal bodyguard. It's one hell of a package deal - pun intended.

#1 - Elena's Hunter Born/Angel Made gifts - Nalini Singh's Guild Hunters series

She can fly, which all on its own is awesome enough. Add to that her accelerated healing, heightened senses and strong psychic shields and Elena is practically the Jean Grey of her world; uniquely powerful but with the compassion necessary to keep her on the side of angels...in more ways than one.

And, as Porky says, th-th-th-that's all, folks!

Top 5 Sundays #12 - Fictional Houses You'd Love to Live in!

One of my friends has an addiction to the HGTV network. In particular, she has a thing for House Hunters, or as I like to call it: "That show that walks you through pretty houses you wish you could have but will probably never afford." And now the show's spun off to go international. That's a lot of pretty houses to be wishing for. Point being, I've got some experience when it comes to dream house fantasy which, as it turns out, is a rather handy tool to bring to bear when writing up a list of fictional houses I'd love to call home.

So, without a further ado, here is Calliope's Domain's Top 5 Fictional Houses You'd Love to Live in! Someone - quick! - cue the drum roll. (Oh! And FYI - the pictures? Those are just close takes on my imagination's vision of the mentioned homes and are in no way official that I know of.)

#5 - Gin's house in Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series

In the first book, Gin lives in an apartment that's pretty Spartan aside from a cluttering of books, weapons and cooking implement. By the second book, she's moved into the house she inherited from her mentor, Fletcher. A mismatch of architectural styles and defense precautions on the outside, the inside is a warren of hallways, stairwells, hidden passages, and rooms. Great if you never know when enemies of deadly intent might be dropping by...

#4 - Charley's apartment in Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series

They say when it comes to real estate, it's all about the location. Charley Davidson lives in a small apartment in the building she was brought to as a kidnap victim in her childhood. There is the ghost of an elderly Asian man standing in one corner with his back to the room and her front door may as well be revolving for all the traffic it sees - usually regardless of Charley's opinion on the matter. But all that besides, her best friend lives a couple of doors down and her office - which is upstairs from her father's bar - is literally across the parking lot from her apartment building. Ultimately, everything balances out just fine, LOL.

#3 - The Beast's castle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast

 Of all the Disney princesses, Belle has, hands down, the best living accommodations. I mean, West Wing aside, her first night in there, Belle's dinner entertainment is a musical number put on by the silverware, dishes and candlesticks. Yup, that's right, the furniture? It's alive. Not to mention that, for the first time, we've a Disney romance based on time spent together and mutual interest as opposed to love at first sight. And, heck, did you see those gardens?

Oh, who am I kidding? We all know the number one reason for wanting to call this castle home and it has nothing to do with the talking teapot. THIS is why:

#2 - Barrons Books and Baubles from Karen Marie Moning's Fever series

It has books, it has beautiful antique architecture, it offers several rooms above, it has Barrons, it has an intricate and developed underground, it has books, it abuts to a garage filled with beautiful expensive cars, and it can claim one heck of a security system. Oh, and did I mention the books? It's a wondrous, wonderful home and damn if I don't envy Mac like crazy for owning it by series' end.

#1 - American Centurion Embassy from Gini Koch's  Kitty Katt series

This is not your standard embassy. It has secret underground levels sporting even secreter underground laboratories. It has teleporting gates. It has little balls of fluff that can grow to man-size and devour people. It has aliens. And the very best part of all? It has wonderful invisible elves (for which there is a complicated, logic-based scientific explanation) that take care of the cleaning and laundry as well as ensuring an infinite supply of any beverage you can name. Literally. Add to that all the yummy aliens walking about and this embassy is as close to Heaven as you can get. You just have to overlook all the bad guys gunning for the lady and master of the house.

And there you have it! Until next week, lovies. ^^

Top 5 Sundays #9 - Favorite Fictional Families!

This week's Top 5 list focuses on favourite fictional families. These are the cohesive units bound by love and sometimes blood that provide our heroes and heroines with support, with lifelines, with sound arguments for claims of insanity. Some families are more involved, some are less in the know, but to be considered a real family the one thing they all have in common is love. Whether their son is a vampire, their sister sees dead people, their best friend's in love with a reaper or their in-laws vacation in Hell, the love binding this ragtag group of misfits together is undeniable and unconditional.

So, without further ado, here are my Top 5 Favorite Fictional Families!


#5 - The Davidsons from the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones

In the first book, you're introduced to a successful, stuck-up, brainiac sister, a step-mother with buckets of prejudice and nothing short of hatred (born from jealousy no less) for her second step-daughter, a loving albeit passive father and a protective detective uncle Charley assists with murder investigations. By the end of the second book, however, it becomes clear that first impressions couldn't be more wrong.

#4 - The D'Artigo Sisters from the Otherworld series by Yasmine Galenorn

When this series starts off, three sisters - a witch, a cat shifter, and a vampire - live together in a large Victorian house while investigating magic based crimes on behalf of the Fae crown in another world. And then Camille, the eldest, falls in love and subsequently marries a dark elf, a youkai demon and a dragon. Delilah has a failed relationship with a detective - who ends up with the Elfin Queen's niece, a doctor, later on down the series - before settling in with a dragon halfbreed for a fiancee. Menolly has a committed relationship with a puma shifter. Iris, Camille's coworker at the start of the series, moves in with the girls and recently married a leprecaun. Rozurial, an incubus, pops up while hunting a rogue vampire in the third book and hangs around to fight the Big Bad. An dream demon jumps sides at another point and takes refuge with the girls. Shamus, their cousin, comes to stay after a harrowing experience in the Otherworld...and it goes on!

#3 - The Jenson-Moore Pack from the Riley Jensen series by Keri Arthur

Riley and her twin brother Rhoan were kicked out of their birth pack for being halfbreeds - half vampire, half werewolf. For a long, long time they were all each other had in the world. Fast forward to their happily ever after glimpsed in the spin-off series, Dark Angels, and you've got both Riley and Rhoan happily mated - her with husband Quinn, him with long time boyfriend Liander. Thanks to Liander's sister volunteering to be their surrogate, Liander and Riley have five children: Ronan, Liana, Darci, Kian and Nika. For a couple of unwanted pups, Riley and Rhoan have done more than well for themselves, don't you think?

#2 - The Price-Healy family from Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series

This is a family of cryptozoologists. Verity is the main character, an ambitious dancer and dedicated monster observer. She has a brother, Alex, and sister, Antimony, and the three of them are descended from not one, but two (at least) long lines of renegade monster hunters who had the whacky idea that just because something wasn't human didn't mean it didn't deserve to live. Protective, loving, and supportive this family not only helps each other out with everything from monster research to relationship advice, they also provide pearl after pearl of hard earned wisdom. In Verity's own words, 

“Growing up in my family meant ambushes on your birthday, crossbows for Christmas, and games of dodge ball where the balls were occasionally rigged to explode. It also meant learning how to work your way out of a wide variety of death traps. Failure to get loose on your own could lead to missing dinner, or worse, being forced to admit that you missed dinner because your baby sister had tied you to the couch. Again.”

#1 - The Ranger Corps 2.0 from Kelly Meding's MetaWars series

You know that saying about blood being thicker than water? Turns out shared experiences trump blood. As children, Teresa, Gage, Renee, Ethan and Marco went through hell - literally. Their parents were superheroes which meant two things; one, they all inherited superpowers themselves and, two, supervillains were always trying to kill them. And then one day, in the middle of the battle that orphaned them, all the superpowers vanished. Skip ahead fifteen years and all of the sudden back the powers come and those five kids find themselves grown up and back together, doing the best they can to unravel the mystery, get a handle on long lost gifts and find their place in the not-so-friendly world they find themselves in. And they're doing all of that just like any family would - together.


And there you have it - my Top 5. Tune in next week for more. Ciao!

Top 5 Sundays #3 - Characters I'd Love to Have Dinner With!

Ah, tis Sunday yet again and that means, you guessed it, it's time for Calliope's Domain latest Top 5. Now, looking at the tone set by Larissa's Bookish Life, the character pool is not limited to just the worlds between the pages, which made this extra difficult to narrow down. I know, I know - I've been saying that every week but, heck, it's true! These can be some pretty tough choices, especially when I've only got five spaces to fill!

Without further adieu, I give you Calliope's Domain's Top 5 Characters I'd Love to Have Dinner With!

#1 - Jack Sparrow 

Ok, so this one was no contest. I mean, have you seen the Pirates of the Caribbean movies? He's witty, he's funny, he's unpredictable, he's...he's Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?

#2 - Charley Davidson

 I made the mistake of reading the first book while drinking Coca-Cola. Needless to say, the coke went straight out my nose by the second paragraph. I adore Charley's perspective, spunk and attitude and would love the chance to pick her brain. Not to mention get the dish on Reyes.


#3 - Prince Charming

Now, let's be clear here - when I say "Prince Charming" (as in Snow's true love in Once Upon a Time - THAT Prince Charming) I mean the hunky hero running about the fairy tale world searching for his perpetually missing Snow White, not his real world counterpart, David. Charming was heroic, brave, noble and all those good prince qualities. David was a moron. It's an important distinction.


#4 - Jane Jameson 

Even if you ignore the fact that we're talking about a vampiric bibliophile with a head full of random trivia, a gorgeous Civil War era boyfriend, and a family that puts the "fun" in "disfunctional," we're still left with a vamp whose a best friend, wedded to a werewolf and one pointed voo-doo cursed by his mama, is, hands down, the most normal character in this book. Why wouldn't you want Jane over for dinner?!

#5 - Betsy Taylor

Betsy...Betsy is kind of like a force of nature who comes blowing through, causing upheaval after upheaval, leaving a wake of destruction, and then leaves you standing there blinking in confusion over whether or not you should strangle her or thank her. And did I mention this is the Queen of the Vamps initiated into the ranks of the undead after an unfortunate run in with an Aztec? The car, not the civilization.


And there you have it - my Top 5. Hopefully this will pop up again next week (yes, I'm still being pessimistic about this...or realistic if you think of my track record thus far). Until then...over and out, mes amours!