Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Kelly Lasiter

Darker Angels: To heck with my inner curmudgeon

Darker Angels by M.L.N. Hanover

My inner curmudgeon nearly set Darker Angels aside at about the halfway point. “I don’t get this book!” said the curmudgeon. “The voodoo’s all wrong. Legba isn’t an evil serial killer! The good guys’ plan doesn’t quite add up, and is pretty unethical besides. And the interpersonal drama just ate the plot for lunch!”

“Sit down and shut up,” said M.L.N. Hanover. “I’m telling a story here.”

OK, so I’ve never met M.L.N. Hanover, and he didn’t literally say that,

September 25th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | M.L.N. Hanover | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Lips Touch Three Times: I want to squeal like a crazed fangirl

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

I’m having a hard time reviewing Lips Touch: Three Times. Intelligent language seems to be failing me. I don’t want to write a review so much as I want to jump up and down and squeal like a crazed fangirl. Lips Touch is chocolate in book form. It’s dark, it’s rich, it’s delicious, and it’s precisely to my taste.

Lips Touch is a collection of three stories; the common theme,

Night’s Cold Kiss: Several things to cheer for

Night’s Cold Kiss by Tracey O’Hara

I have a love-hate relationship with vampires. There have been vampire novels that I’ve absolutely adored. There have been others that have flown from my hand into the wall with frightening velocity. Mostly, I just wish there weren’t so darn many vampire novels. My favorite urban fantasies, lately, have been the ones where there aren’t any vampires, or the ones where vampires play a very minor role. When an urban fantasy does feature vampires, my favorite aspects of the book tend to be the places where the author departs from the standard vampire “canon.”

September 18th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Tracey O'Hara | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Queene of Light: I love this idea!

Queene of Light by Jennifer Armintrout

Many urban fantasy authors have written about supernatural races coming out of the shadows and living among humans. Few have done anything like this: The supernatural races crossed the Veil to live among humans, but war broke out, and the humans won. The otherworldly beings, along with any humans found to have paranormal abilities, have been banished to an underworld of sewers and subway tunnels, while the humans rule the world above. I love this idea. Jennifer Armintrout gives the reader a setting that feels both archetypal (because the fae have often been said to live underground) and fresh (because I’ve never seen it done quite like this).

September 18th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Jennifer Armintrout | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Ice Land: Neither great characters nor compelling plot

Ice Land by Betsy Tobin

“This book is my love letter to Iceland and its people,” writes Betsy Tobin in her afterword to Ice Land. And so it is. Tobin is at her best when describing the landscape of Iceland:

The day we met, I had flown deep into the central highlands, seeking a spot where I could be alone. I found it on a high desert plateau, where a hidden spring had forced its way up through the lava shield,

Leanna Renee Hieber Talks About “Strangely Beautiful”…and Bunnies

I interviewed Leanna Renee Hieber about her fantasy debut, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, a gothic Victorian tale filled with ghosts, magic, and romance. Read my review of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and learn more at Leanna Renee Hieber’s website!

Kelly: Percy Parker is an unusual heroine, both in her appearance and in her shy, timid personality. How did she first come to you? Did she appear full-formed, like Athena,

September 11th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter | Leanna Renee Hieber | Author Interviews | 2 comments |

Demon Inside: Stacia Kane can paint a vivid picture!

Demon Inside by Stacia Kane

You know your family is dysfunctional when demons are better company.

As Demon Inside begins, Megan Chase is adjusting to her new role as Gretneg of the personal demons. A Gretneg is a leader, similar to a Mafia don, and much like a Mafia don, Megan has to show a ruthless side in order to keep her charges’ respect and avoid being bullied by other Gretnegs. This is no easy task. Megan shrinks from the violent discipline the demons are used to.

September 10th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Renegade Hunter: This one’s for the romance readers

The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands

How I feel about The Renegade Hunter depends, in part, on whether I put on my “romance hat” or my “fantasy hat.” There is definitely some overlap between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but this one falls on the romance side. This is not a bad thing, just something you might want to know, whether you’re seeking out paranormal romance or trying to avoid it. The focus is squarely on the relationship between Jo, a feisty marine biology student; and Nicholas,

September 7th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Lynsay Sands | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Catching Fire: Highly recommended

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

One of last year’s best, most compelling reads was Suzanne Collins’ dystopic The Hunger Games, in which a group of young boys and girls are sent into a large geographic area for a kill-or-be-killed TV spectacle — a sort of Running Man meets Lord of the Flies meets Survivor meets The Lottery. The book, carried along winningly by the strong main character Katniss, was suspenseful, poignant, and often breathless, ending with a clear resolution but with an obvious nod toward a sequel.

Changeling: Not a book for arachnophobes!

Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn

In Changeling, Yasmine Galenorn avoids the thing that annoyed me most in Witchling; namely, the infodumping. Having set the scene in Witchling, Galenorn is free to spend most of Changeling on plot and character development. There is some exposition, but it didn’t strike me as excessive. It was just the right amount to get me caught up after two years’ absence from Galenorn’s universe.

Changeling is written from the point of view of Delilah D’Artigo,

August 31st, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Yasmine Galenorn | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
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This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
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