REVIEW: Seanan McGuire's Discount Armageddon

Book: Discount Armageddon

Author: Seanan McGuire

Series: InCryptid

Publishing stats: March 6th 2012 by DAW (USA)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Cover Blurb: Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. 

Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city...

A lifetime of training isn't enough to prepare Verity for what's ahead - especially not for Dominic De Luca, the Covenant's newest operative. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heel, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed.

First line: Verity danced circles around the living room, her amateurish pirouettes and unsteady leaps accompanied by cheers and exultations from the horde of Aeslin mice perched on the back of the couch.

What I liked: The tone of this book had an inherent humour that proved to be not only engaging but damn amusing. The writing of this book definitely had a lighter, funner tone than Ms. McGuire's October Daye series that, in my opinion, really let stand out. Heck, if not for her name on the cover, I never would have guessed the same author wrote both series; a true accomplishment, I think, for any author writing multiple series. Additionally, I also love the little genre-savvy family sayings that subtitle each chapter (e.g. “Never tell anyone to be careful, never ask what that noise was, and for the love of God, never, ever say that you'll be right back." —Evelyn Baker”). 

What I didn’t like: It ended much too soon. I loved this book and waiting for the next book - in particular to see how the relationship between Dominic and Verity develops (if this turns into a love triangle in coming books, I'll scream) - is going to be rough. With Ms. McGuire working on something like four series at the moment - two of them published - it's understandable, but that doesn't make the wait itself any easier to deal with!

Overall: I love how balance played a running theme throughout the book, particularly in characters. You have Verity Price, the descendent of rogue monster hunters turned cryptyozoologists, trying to balance familial duty with her dancing ambitions. You have Dominic De Luca, devout follower of the monster hunting Covenant, trying to balance what he's been taught to believe his whole life with what he's learning first hand in the field with Verity. You have the entire Price family trying to studying the cryptids of the world and maintain a balance between the dangerous and the necessary. It was delightful.

Would I read this author again: HELL YES! The second book in this series, Midnight Blue-Light Special, comes out next spring and cannot come too soon.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥/5

To purchase the book for yourself, you can find it at Chapters.Indigo.ca, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble. Enjoy!

New Feature: Elementary, My Dear - Explanation

In my infinite wisdom, I've come to the conclusion that Calliope's Domain needs a unique feature all its own. Yes, yes, there are reviews and interviews and Top 5 Sundays, but what this blog needs is something that helps it to stand out, that makes it unique, that will help it be heard from the tangled depths of this blogger's jungle. That it will have the added bonus, er, I mean consequence of killing a couple hours of my time...well, that is a sacrifice I am prepared and willing to make. Because that's just the sort of blogger I am - the sacrificial sort. Although now that I write that I'm not entirely sure it means what I think it does...but you get the idea. I hope.

By this point, I'm sure anyone still reading is rolling their eyes and grumbling at me to just get on with it. I get on with it I shall. This new feature I've thought up is going to be call "Elementary, My Dear." It feature will be a weekly (although, once school commences in the fall it may become biweekly) exploration of one element or another that make up the sort books Calliope's Domain promotes, namely urban fantasy, paranormal romance and whatever-I-happened-to-pick-up-and-find-intriguing. Once blog traffic picks up, there will actually be a weekly poll on the topic, much like Larissa of Larissa's Bookish Life now hosts for the Top 5 Sundays theme. 


So. There you have it. Thoughts? Suggestions? Critique? Head to the comments and let me have it!

Top 5 Sundays #6 - Fave Books from First Half of 2012!

When I sat down to put this week's Top 5 together my biggest problem actually turned out to be knowing whether or not a book was actually released in  2012 or in late 2011. This is what happens when you fall behind on your TBR pile - you start to lose track of when exactly you added any given book to the pile. It's sad really and clearly I need to engage in some major catching up over the summer. Cue sigh here.

Well, in any case, here is Calliope's Domain Top 5 Fave Books from [hopefully] the First Half of 2012.

#5 - Summoning the Night by Jenn Bennett

Publication Date: April 24, 2012 | Series: Arcadia Bell

This was a fun read with a good balance of adventure, mystery, romance and family bonding. It developed the characters and plot lines from the first book while simultaneously standing on its own. You can read my full review of the book here.

#4 - Sacrificial Magic by Stacia Kane

Publication Date: March 27, 2012 | Series: Downside Ghosts

What I love about this series is its ability to make me wince. Chess, the main character, is an drug addicted, ghost exorcising, haunting debunking, top-of-her-game witch living a world ruled by the Church with an underside that even Satan would hesitate to visit. And somehow what it all boils down to is a girl wallowing in self-loathing, solving mysteries that coincidentally interconnect, and having boy troubles. Honestly, what's not to love?

#3 - By a Thread by Jennifer Estep

Publication Date: February 28, 2012 | Series: Elemental Assassin

Finally, finally, those last pesky plot threads left hanging are tied up, neat as can be. Ever wonder what became of Detective Caine (the slime ball who left at the end of book two, Web of Lies, disappointed that Gin had managed to survive a mine collapse)? Were you left questioning whether Bria, Gin's cop sister, would truly be able to accept her sister The Spider? Did you want more Owen? This book delivered all that and more. 

#2 - Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors by Molly Harper

Publication Date: February 28, 2012 | Series: Jane Jameson

Jane has got to be one of my favourite vampires. And why shouldn't she be? Between her love of books, her quirky, sarcastic, spastic nature and her inability to go more than a day without walking into one calamity or another, there's a lot to love about her. In this latest installment in her series, Jane tackles siring a teenage vampire - and dealing with the consequences - the homicidal intentions of some unknown stalker bent on revenge and, perhaps worst of all, planning her wedding. It was funny, it was surprising, it was every bit as good as its predecessors and, really, what more can you ask?

#1 - Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

Publication Date: March 6, 2012 | Series: InCryptid

I loved this book! It was funny and quirky and romantic and surprising and a hundred other things, all of them good. I was intrigued by the premise and all it had to offer - an exiled family of cryptozoologists, the beasts they study, a daughter trying to balance her familial duties with her love of dance while striking out on her own in NYC, a hardcore monster slayer from an order of zealots trying to balance his duty with the intrigue he feels for a certain dancing cryptozoologist, and a whole slew of talking, devout mice, to name just a handful. All in all, an amazing read - I cannot wait for the second book to release!

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

REVIEW: Vicki Pettersson's The Scent of Shadows

Book: The Scent of Shadows

Author: Vicki Pettersson

Series: Signs of the Zodiac (Joanna Archer)

Publishing stats: February 27th 2007 by Eos (USA)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Cover Blurb: The First Sign of the Zodiac

When she was sixteen, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert.

By rights, she should be dead.

Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset – a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow – seeking answers to whom or what she really is … and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure.

But the nightmare is just beginning – for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful Shadows want her for their own…

First line: He didn't look dangerous, not at first glance.

What I liked: This book's heroine, Joanna Archer, is an interesting blend of strength of vulnerability. After a childhood trauma, she goes out of her way to take control of her life and develop the necessary skills to ensure she'd never be anyone's victim ever again. Unfortunately, the shadow of that first trauma never truly dissipates and its effect can be seen in so much of who and what she is. Overall, she's a truly complex and intriguing character and I loved seeing her layers unfurl chapter after chapter.

What I didn’t like: The story of this book seems to be incredibly drawn out. It was a lot like reading a story about a viking who starts out telling you he's going to die the next day then takes about a hundred and fifty pages to work up to it. You then spend the next hundred and fifty pages waiting for the Valkyrie to show up so he can go to Valhalla where you hope the story's going to pick up. In the meantime, your viking is essentially stuck in some kind of Snakes and Ladders game that gets him caught up in some sort of deranged cycle. It was frustrating to say the least.

Overall: It was not a bad book but it wasn't a great book either. I loved the characters. I loved the relationships and interactions that went on. I especially loved the whole premise of the story; Pettersson took comic book mythology, shook it up, and remolded it into an exciting and intricate mythology all her own. Her incorporation of the Zodiac signs into the battle of good versus evil - referred to as Light versus Shadow - was more than skin deep and infused not only the story but the characters as well. Most of my displeasure with the book, as stated previously, derived from the pacing and redundancy of the plot.

Would I read this author again: Yes. This is the first book in the series, after all, and it wasn't horrible. I would want to read at least the second book before passing judgment on the merits of continuing.

My rating: ♥♥/5

To purchase the book for yourself, you can find it at Chapters.Indigo.ca, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble. Enjoy!

Top 5 Sundays #5 - Childhood & Early Teenage Years Books

With Larissa from Larissa's Bookish Life absent this week (lucky b*tch is serving as maid of honour at her friend's wedding), I decided to take this opportunity to dig up her very first Top 5 theme - Childhood & Early Teenage Years Books - and have a go at it myself. Now, lucky me, I happened to be one of those nerdy little girls whose friends more often than not tended to be fictional, sad but true. Think the fact I was exempt from physical activity and the outdoors in less than perfect weather (thank you, congenital hip dysplasia!) had a lot to do with it - it gave me lots and lots and lots of time alone in a school. Basically, I could read or explore the school's rather restricted internet service. By mid grade 5, I had absolutely, positively every book in the school's library. Listed below, in no particular order, are my five fav picks.

#5 - Green Eggs and Ham written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss 

 "I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-Am!" So, it's no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Dr. Seuss. From his rhyme schemes to his nonsensical statements and made-up whatchamacallits, I loved everything this man ever put to paper but none so much as Green Eggs and Ham. I mean, heck, this was the book I learned to read with! A true classic, no question.

#4 - The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende

 After about the tenth time, it became more than a little annoying to read the false start of a side-story of one sort or another abruptly cut off with the phrase, "But that's another story, for another time." And yet, somehow, Sebastian's main story kept me intrigued enough to keep from throwing the book across the room. Plus, given that this book's 448 page length I still recall vividly how proud my grade two self was to finish it.

#3 - The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin

I very much doubt there's a girl anywhere in North America who has never read so much as one Babysitters Club book. With the narrative rotating between the club members - originally tomboy Kristy, shy Mary-Anne, eccentric Claudia and sophisticated Stacy - and the stories focusing on issues every preteen (and later teen and I think even YA later on) could relate to, these books were terrific.

#2 - The Phantom Tollbooth written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer 

You ever read one of those books that somehow manage to flamboyantly flaunt the lesson its trying to teach while somehow keeping it subtle at the same time? Well, this book blows all those right out of the water. With a blend of nonsensical logic and comedic tone, this book made me shoot juice out of nose several times and, in the end, really gave me an appreciation for school and all it had to offer. Quite the impressive feat.

#1 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 

Oh, come on now, who doesn't love this book? Unlike the more complex epic that is The Lord of the Rings, this prequel, told in more simplistic language, was a fun and exciting romp through a fantasy world without the need to follow five different story lines and reference who-knows-how-many appendices. It's about a hobbit who accompanies a dozen dwarfs on a quest to reclaim their mines from a dragon - which leads to some lovely encounters with a trio of trolls, a bear-shifter, a forest of drunken elves and that Gollum creature of absolutely no consequence (note the sarcasm font) - and then hangs around to partake in a war. It's fantasy adventure at its purest, hands down.

And there you have it - Calliope's Domain's Top 5 Childhood & Early Teenage Years Books! Tune in next week for more. Kiss, kiss, loveys.

REVIEW: Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

Book: Darkness Unbound

Author: Keri Arthur

Series: Dark Angels (Risa Jones)

Publishing stats: September 27, 2011 by Bantam Dell (USA)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Cover Blurb: Being half werewolf and half Aedh, Risa Jones can enter the twilight realms between life and death and see the reapers, supernatural beings that collect the souls of the dead. But she soon makes a terrifying discovery: Some sinister force is stealing souls, preventing the dead from ever knowing the afterlife.

Reapers escort souls—not snatch them—but Risa is still unnerved when a reaper shadows her in search of someone Risa has never met: her own father, an Aedh priest, who is rumored to be tampering with the gates of hell for a dark purpose. With the help of her “aunt”—half-werewolf, half-vampire Riley Jenson—and an Aedh named Lucian who may have lost his wings but none of his sex appeal, Risa must pursue whatever shadowy practitioner of blood magic is seizing souls, and somehow stop her father . . . before all hell breaks loose.

First line: I've always seen the Reapers.

What I liked: Well, right off the bat I love that, as a sequel to Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen, Guardian series, you get to see how life's turned out for Riley, Rhoan, Quinn, Liander and their pups, not to mention Dia, twenty years later. What's even better, you're introduced to new and never-before explored elements of Riley's world through a whole new perspective. Heap on top of that a brand new cast of characters - with fun and unexpected connections to past characters - and an engaging, tantalizing new narrator and this book quickly marks itself as something distinct and unique compared to its mother series, despite its shared world and back story.

What I didn’t like: You know what's worse that a stupid hero or heroine? A hero or heroine who says, straight out, what they should be doing, who agrees wholeheartedly with the advice given to them by others, who refers to the disastrous decisions of old and the wisdom learned from them...and then proceeds to ignore it all because, dang it, they simply can't stand the thought of their loved ones being harmed. Don't get me wrong - I can get behind that sentiment - but to then run headlong into danger yourself...it's just another brand of stupidity. Because, yay, you've spared your loved one physical harm on your behalf and instead they just have to cope with your injuries and potential death knowing that it was incited to spare their own. Yup, that's much better. Cue eye-roll here.

Overall: Hands down every bit as good as the original series. I can't wait to see how the story develops from here - especially when Risa has such hunky potential love interests fluttery about. Plus, I want to know Riley's youngest two children are named (The eldest set of twins - Liana and Ronan - are training to be police officers, the middle daughter - Darcy - is the only non-twin) and get more snapshots of her pack's happy home life.

Would I read this author again: Yup, no question. Between the futuristic setting of these series and the depth of Arthur's world-building, these books are pure addiction in pulp paper packaging.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥/5

To purchase the book for yourself, you can find it at Chapters.Indigo.ca, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Enjoy!

Top 5 Sundays #4 - Books/Series I'd Rather Didn't Become a Movie/TV Show!

So, these week's Top 5 topic is books and/pr series I'd rather didn't become either a movie or a TV show. Unlike past weeks, what made these choices hard to narrow down was critically thinking about the books in terms of their potential transition onto either the big or small screens. What is it about a book that makes it suited or not for cinematic production? Is it the plot? The characters? The genre? The setting? What I came up with was that it was actually a combination of all that and more. Sometimes, no matter how much you may want to see one of your favourite books brought to life, sometimes they simply won't transition.

So, without further adieu, here are this week's Top 5 picks.

#1 - Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series

Alright, so there may be similarities to be had between these books and ABC's Once Upon a Time, but ultimately the build up to the main adventure can take awhile - in the first book, it was 210 pages before the hero was introduced - and, unlike Lord of the Rings, there's just not enough diversity in the build up to hold interest on the big screen. What's more, each book tends to contribute its own vast cast of characters while still striving to incorporate past characters. These are still some great books with a truly unique and engaging approach to fairy tales - it's just better suited to the page than the screen.

#2 - Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series

Now, I love this series - it was amazing with demons, vampires, fallen angels, necromancers, shamans and a half dozen or more other bits and pieces that all blended together to create one hell of a world. But the way this story flows - the darkness that permeates it in several forms and the ending that leaves more wreckage than happily ever after - just don't lend themselves to the sort of entertainment Hollywood and even HBO are looking for.

#3 - Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series

 The thing about this series - which has a great balance of sarcasm, hilarity, romance, and adventure going for it - is that I just can't see a TV series having the patience to gradually work in each pairing or a movie franchise holding stamina that long. And unlike similar series - like Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, for instance, which could possibly pull off an Avengers-like build up - with the setting for each book being based at the same location it would be tricky to separate the stories. It's fantastic as books - just not feasible on film, at least not without some severe remodeling.

#4 - Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series

 Okay, this one is simple: I had enough trouble keeping track of all the time jumping - especially in regards to a certain parking lot - when it was printed on the page. I do NOT want to have my mind bent, twist, rinsed and repeated on either the big or small screens, thank you very much.

#5 - Sunny's Mona Lisa series

These are the sort of books that despite appearing short have a TON of stuff happening. And just when you think it's over BAM! something flies at you from who-only-knows-where and you sit there blinking as the whole story seems to go in a completely new and unexpected direction. Each book is like a roller coaster that jumps the track to whole new line midway through and then circles back at the last minute. Not something I can see translating to the world of movies and television.

And there you have it - my Top 5. Of course, between Peter Jackson, HBO and the CW, I expect I'll be proven wrong about at least one of these some time within the next century. I mean, did anyone honestly see Game of Thrones as a TV series? Mind you, I think this is one subject where being proven wrong is half the fun.

On a random side note - has anyone seen a movie about dragons that's actually had a good CGI dragon? I was looking at books like Joanne Bertin's Dragonlords series, G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin series, Thea Harrison's Elder Races series and Allyson James' Dragon and Stormwalker series and I realized that their translation to the screen really depends on the quality of the dragon. Which led me to realize I couldn't think of a single good CGI dragon. Huh.

Until next week!