August 2016 Book of the Month
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson is a mechanic by day and a coyote-shapeshifter pretty much whenever she wants to be. Raised by werewolves and neighbor to the local pack’s alpha, she can’t help getting involved in paranormal politics. Particularly when they’re all threatened by something no one’s seen before – a vampire possessed by a demon (yeah, we did a double-take, too).
This thrilling ride is the second in Patricia Briggs’ well-crafted series. (The first, Moon Called, focused on werewolves and we’re not sure they exist, so we’re starting here instead.)
More in the series
Moon Called (book 1)
Iron Kissed (book 3)
Bone Crossed (book 4)
Silver Borne (book 5)
River Marked (book 6)
Frost Burned (book 7)
Night Broken (book 8)
July 2016 Book of the Month
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Darynda Jones’s debut novel is a delightful blend of chick-lit, paranormal romance, and murder mystery. Charlotte “Charley” Davidson is a grim reaper, and even she doesn’t really know what that means. But she sees dead people, talks to them, and uses that ability to help her detective uncle solve murders. Such as three attorneys who were all killed in one evening.
Oh, and did we mention the amorous dreams she’s been having? No? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out who that particular Entity happens to be.
More in the series
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
Fifth Grave Past the Light
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eighth Grave After Dark
The Dirt on the Ninth Grave
The Curse of the Tenth Grave
June 2016 Book of the Month
Phantom Effect by Michael Aronovitz
If you’ve watched this month’s webisode about the Ghostly Positioning & Possession Service, you’ll know that we like a good tale of ghostly (or is it ghastly?) revenge. So we enjoyed rooting for Marissa Madison, the latest target of serial killer Jonathan Martin Delaware Deseronto. Marissa was a powerful psychic in life, and in death she uses her abilities to force Deseronto to face not only her past, but his own.
Not for the faint of heart, this psychological horror alternates between Deseronto’s first person and Madison’s third person points of view, building to a climax that weaves seemingly unrelated subplots into a spectacular, and surprising, finale.
May 2016 Book of the Month
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
In our universe, all zombies can be domesticated. Not every world is built that way. So we appreciate finding a book that recognizes that zombies at least used to be people.
Ben Imura can’t remember a time before the zombie apocalypse. Now, he’s 15 and has to get a job. When nothing else works out, he apprentices to his older brother Tom, a renowned zombie bounty hunter. Initially excited about killing “zoms”, Ben soon learns there are greater horrors beyond the town fence, and that zombies may not be the monsters he thought they were.
The full series:
- Rot & Ruin (2010)
- Dust & Decay (2012)
- Flesh & Bone (2013)
- Fire & Ash (2014)
- Bits & Pieces (2015)
April 2016 Book of the Month
An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel
You may have noticed the sparkly vampire delivering Christie’s Cranial Delights in our first episode. Well, you’ll be seeing more of him next month, but in the meantime, we thought you’d enjoy this fun tale from novelist Jim McDoniel.
When thousand-year-old Yulric Bile wakes after a three hundred year slumber, he’s surprised to learn that modern vampires are young, sexy, and, worst of all, sparkly. He sets out on a quest to find out just what caused vampires to become “good”, and all sorts of hilarious adventures ensue.
Our twitter interview with the author is archived on Storify!
March 2016 Book of the Month
Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo
We don’t have trolls in our world (if we did, we’d be parodying Donald Trump), but this fantastical novel by Johanna Sinisalo, translated from the original Finnish by Herbert Lomas, is a touching tale of society’s outcasts and fringe citizens who find comfort in each other.
Prepare to have your heartstrings yanked as Angel rescues a troll cub from a group of drunk teenagers, without realizing just what impact this little guy might have on him and his life. What is the difference between human and animal? Perhaps Angel and his troll will find out.
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