review

Jan 2014 25

The Ghoul Next Door: A Ghost Hunter Mystery By Victoria Laurie

2014 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Fantasy & Fangs, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

A visit from an ex-boyfriend is always disturbing, but when psychic medium MJ Holliday discovers Steven Sable on her doorstep, flustered does not come close to describing her condition. Not only does handsome Dr. Sable bring the news that he is engaged to a neurosurgeon, but he also asks for M.J.'s help with his fiancée’s possibly possessed brother. Poor Luke Decker has been feeling shadowed by a menacing presence whenever he's alone, and its poltergeist antics have him unable to sleep and questioning his sanity.

Jan 2014 20

Nut Job: Movie Review

2014 Articles, Movies, Sheryl Wall

by Sheryl Wall

Nut Job is about the animals in a park struggling to store enough food for the winter, and one Squirrel in particular, named Surly, who is known as a troublemaker who only looks out for himself and his rat friend, Buddy. Surly ends up causing the little food that the other animals have stored in a tree to end up being burned up by a run away peanut cart and finds himself banished from the park to live out in the city alone.

Jan 2014 18

Tempt the Stars By Karen Chance

2014 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Jesus Ibarra

by Jesus Ibarra

After a long wait, Tempt the Stars is the sixth installment of the Cassandra Palmer series, once again featuring our favorite clairvoyant and time traveler, Cassie. After the events of the last book where she found she was a demigoddess, she has to deal with how this revelation affects her current life, as well as question exactly who her parents really were. On top of all this, Cassie has to deal with her relationship with the vampire Mircea, and half-demon, Pritkin, who is now in the demon realm, and with the increasing threats the old gods pose who want to come back to Earth.

Jan 2014 13

American Hustle: Movie Review

2014 Articles, Jesus Ibarra, Movies

by Jesus Ibarra

David O. Russell, director of last year’s hit Silver Linings Playbook, is back with a new drama, American Hustle. Loosely based on the FBI ABSCAM operation of the late 70s, American Hustle stars a fantastic ensemble who give "mind blowingly" amazing performances.

Jan 2014 11

Dying on the Vine By Aaron Elkins

2014 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sandra Murphy

by Sandra Murphy

The head of a winery in Italy is debating whether or not to sell the winery. He could leave it to his son, but the oldest doesn’t have a feel for the grape, only the business. His second loves the grapes, but it would be unheard of to pass over the eldest. The youngest is a great salesman, but not a businessman. What to do? If that’s not enough, there are rumors that his wife is cheating on him–he could not stand the shame.

Jan 2014 4

Dead Set By Richard Kadrey

2014 Articles, Every Other Book, Fantasy & Fangs, Jesus Ibarra

by Jesus Ibarra

Richard Kadrey, best known for his Sandman Slim urban fantasy series, enters the world of YA fiction with Dead Set. Not a completely unexpected thing, as YA fiction has become an incredibly popular genre, with almost every popular urban fantasy author writing a YA novel. However, Dead Set strangely does not read or feel like a YA adult novel. It doesn’t focus on a lot of the current YA tropes such teenage romance, someone finding their destiny and or trying to save the world. Kadrey avoids these trappings by making Dead Set all about dealing with grief– specifically the grief of the teenage character, Zoe, who is still mourning the loss of her father.

Dec 2013 28

Black Heart By Christina Henry

2013 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Terrance V. Mc Arthur

by Terrance Mc Arthur

Madeline Black’s grandpa is Lucifer.
Maddy used to work as an agent of Death.
The Agency wants her dead.
She’s pregnant.
She has wings.

Dec 2013 28

Cry in the Night By Carolyn Hart

2013 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

At a 1982 Washington D.C. lecture by a visiting Mexico City, Egyptologist and assistant museum curator, Sheila Ramsay is stunned and mesmerized. Not so much by the passionate discourse on the criminality and barbarity of museums purchasing artifacts from thieves and pillagers, but by Jeremiah Elliot's striking looks and obvious dedication to preserving historical treasures. After a day spent with "Jerry" touring the Smithsonian Sheila is so completely smitten, that when her museum offers the seemingly unobtainable opportunity to return a borrowed manuscript to the owning family in Mexico City, Sheila impulsively applies and is shocked to when she is selected.

Dec 2013 14

Dark Currents: Agent of Hel By Jacqueline Carey

2013 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

Pemkowet, Michigan may boast a modest population of 3000 residents (excluding tourists during the season), but this scenic resort town is also home to a diverse society living under the radar. Readers may already be familiar with Jacqueline Carey’s lush, disturbing Kushiel books, but in Dark Currents: Agent of Hel, Carey has left Terre d’ Ange and turns to our own twenty-first century.

Dec 2013 7

Kicking It: Edited by Faith Hunter & Kalayna Price

2013 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Lorie Lewis Ham

by Lorie Lewis Ham

Put together some kick ass female fantasy authors with some kick ass female characters and you have the anthology Kicking It! This anthology, with the theme of boots and the paranormal, is edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price.