Midnight Blue-Light Special

by Seanan McGuire

Cryptid, noun:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically. Term officially coined by cryptozoologist John E. Wall in 1983.
2. That thing that’s getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also: “monster.”

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 when her work with the cryptid community took her to Manhattan, she thought she would finally be free to pursue competition-level dance in earnest. It didn’t quite work out that way…

But now, with the snake cult that was killing virgins all over Manhattan finally taken care of, Verity is ready to settle down for some serious ballroom dancing—until her on-again, off-again, semi-boyfriend Dominic De Luca, a member of the monster-hunting Covenant of St. George, informs her that the Covenant is on their way to assess the city’s readiness for a cryptid purge. With everything and everyone she loves on the line, there’s no way Verity can take that lying down.

Alliances will be tested, allies will be questioned, lives will be lost, and the talking mice in Verity’s apartment will immortalize everything as holy writ–assuming there’s anyone left standing when all is said and done. It’s a midnight blue-light special, and the sale of the day is on betrayal, deceit…and carnage.

I just realized my last three posts were not book reviews.  Definitely not ok!  So I decided to pick this gem out of my already read list to share this fine Friday!  I read Midnight Blue-Light Special during the last spring semester after finishing the first novel in the series Discount Armageddon.   This story starts off where the first ended and it was the perfect book for me to read in the middle of a stressful semester.  Now on to the review.

The reasons I enjoyed Midnight Blue-Light Special:

Verity Price – One of my all-time favorite female characters.  She is the perfect mix of smart, stubborn, and sassy.  The type of head strong heroine I find myself connecting to because she comes across as real despite her crazy talents and unique life.  Verity is charming, even when stumbling in her relationship or confronting aggressive monsters.  It never fails, I always get a goofy grin at her snarky comments and instantly forgive her when she makes a stupid mistake.  Verity is the reason I keep coming back to this series.

The Cryptids – McGuire has done a fantastic job of providing a unique cast of characters.  Midnight Blue-Light Special takes the characters from Discount Armageddon and delves deeper into each of their personalites and species-dictated quirks.  Sarah Zellaby, Verity’s adopted cousin and a good hearted psychic monster, becomes Verity’s right-hand girl in the fight against the Covenant of St. George.

Aeslin Mice – Yes the Aeslin Mice are Cryptids but they deserve their own bullet point darn it!  Pick these books up just so you can read about the Aeslin Mice!  There is no way I can describe their awesomeness in just a few short sentences.

Midnight Blue-Light Special does have a few frustrating qualities.  I wish McGuire had done more to flesh out all the characters.  The fast pace of the book left many of the supporting characters feeling two-dimensional and this included Dominic.  I needed more from the love interest.  I also had a difficult time with the switch from Verity’s to Sarah’s POV in the middle of the book.  I understand why McGuire did it but it really messed with the pace of the story.  It was still a good read.

Is Midnight Blue-Light Special realistic?  Nope.  Some of the scenes, such as the naked ceiling beam walk, are beyond fantastic.  But, for me, the over the top moments are the best aspects of the story!  Has anyone else read Midnight Blue-Light Special?  What do you think?

Lindsay

 

Between Worlds

by Jacqueline E. Smith

Someone always dies… Someone is always left behind…

Now that his secret is out, Michael Sinclair finally agrees to join paranormal superstar Luke Rainer and the Cemetery Tours crew on an investigation. Not just any investigation. The biggest investigation of their career.

Once home to the wealthy Sterling Hall and his beloved wife, Joanna, Stanton Hall Manor in Maine is famous for the love story that inspired it… and the ghosts who now inhabit it. For Luke and the crew, Stanton Hall is a dream come true.

Unfortunately, some dreams turn out to be nightmares.

I was starting to get a little burned out on the Halloween novels; I mean, look how many I have reviewed in the last month!  But I told Jackie that I would read Between Worlds, the second novel in her Cemetery Tours series, and provide a review this week.  Boy, am I glad I made that promise because I couldn’t put it down yesterday!  Between Worlds was exactly what I needed to pull me out of my reading slump.

Between Worlds picks up just three months after the conclusion of Cemetery Tours.  Michael is struggling with his new life; a life where his carefully guarded secret is now national news.  He has the dead and not so dead begging for his assistance.  It is such a request that prompts him, Kate, Brink, and Gavin to join Luke and the Cemetery Tours team on a visit to the haunted Stanton Hall Manor.  Here they must uncover the truth behind an interesting love story and help a heart-broken ghost.

I LOVED IT!  Reading Between Worlds felt like catching up with old friends with each turn of the page and I have to say that Jackie’s writing has only improved with book two.  She discusses some pretty serious, and sometimes heartbreaking, issues but still maintained a light, and often humorous, atmosphere.  Brink kept me laughing, Luke exhibited a surprisingly complex personality, and I loved the developments between Michael and Kate.  I definitely did not have a problem connecting with Michael this time around!   I even loved the haunting of Sterling Hall.

I do wish there had been more about Emily.  I quickly figured out her secret but I was hoping that Michael and Brink would do more to help her with her reality.  I know she was doing better when the group left but I personally wanted more closure for the poor teen.  And I really got frustrated with how Kate’s mom treats her like a rebellious and incapable teenager.  (This has nothing to do with Jackie’s writing 🙂 this is me being annoyed with the actual character)  I understand that the nearly loosing her daughter would make her so cautious, but I was just waiting for her to realize that Kate is a strong woman and that her overbearing behavior is only pushing Kate away.  Oh well, maybe she’ll have an epiphany in book 3 :).

Thank you for the excited story Jackie!  It was nice having a paranormal book that I didn’t want to put down and I can not wait for the next installment!  What do y’all think of Between Worlds?

Lindsay

Sparrow Hill Road

Sparrow Hill Road
by Seanan McGuire

Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross—a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn’t ask Rose what she thought of the idea.

It’s been more than sixty years since that night, and she’s still sixteen, and she’s still running.

They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose,” a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. She’s the angel of the overpass, she’s the darling of the truck stops, and she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her.

You can’t kill what’s already dead.

I picked up Sparrow Hill Road during the spring in one of my mid-semester book buying binges. It is a ghost story told from the ghost’s POV, so I waited until October to read it.

Sparrow Hill Road is an interesting collection of stories that meld together in a non-linear tale of Rose Marshall: the Phantom Prom Date, the Ghost in the Green Silk Dress, and the Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road. Rose is left as a sixteen year old for eternity and is charged with helping the ghosts of the road find their way home. She is also stuck running from the man who stole her life…

I liked it. I was a little shocked because the novel received such mixed reviews on Goodreads but I actually liked how it read like a collection of short-stories with each chapter dedicated to one specific event. It was fun reading the vastly different stories and watching how McGuire makes everything flow together seamlessly. I also enjoyed Rose. She is strong, snarky, impatient, arrogant, and just fun to read. Her personality is perfect for a teenager who has spent decades walking the ghostroads and dealing with death.

The short-story collection approach does have its downside. The beginning of each chapter provides an eloquent, yet lengthy, analysis of life on the ghostroads. It got repetitive…fast. I was also not a fan of the ending. It just happened abruptly, leaving one main plot point unfinished and obviously setting the stage for a second book. I’m fine reading the second book but I had expected more closure at the end of this one.

Nevertheless, I recommend it if you are looking for something paranormal but vastly different from the norm. Sparrow Hill Road is much different than the other McGuire novels I have read, and I am pleased to say it is a strong piece in it’s own right. Has anyone else read Sparrow Hill Road?

Lindsay

The Ride

by Aric Davis

Thirty years hasn’t changed Las Vegas—the desert just got dirtier. The biggest game in town centers on a massive, deadly roller coaster that winds its way through the Strip’s most famous attractions. On the first Saturday of every month, twenty-four desperate passengers get strapped into the notorious ride and gamble with their lives in a twisted game of chance, to the thrill of webcast audiences worldwide. One of them will win, and one will die, but the other twenty-two will escape with nothing but their lives. Bets are placed as the ride begins, but in Vegas, the house always wins.

The Ride by acclaimed author Aric Davis is a terrifying near-future vision of bloodlust-as-entertainment taken to a horrific extreme.

Its a beautiful Friday and I cant think of a better afternoon to review a few short stories!  First up is Aric Davis’ The Ride.  I found this story on Amazon last week and was excited about the premise of a deadly rollercoaster ride acting as a game of chance.  So I REALLY wanted to love The Ride; really bad because I think the premise is brilliant.  It just wasn’t a homerun for me and I think that would have been different if the story had just been a tad bit longer.

The Ride provides a great description of what results from societal boredom and humanity’s desperate need for the next big thing.  Davis is great at describing the initial stress and desperation of getting on the ride and expressing the failings of human nature with the ride’s route.  But after that it just fell short for me.  I wanted more detail concerning the death on the ride, and yes that may seem morbid, but the point of this story is to show the morbid tendencies that push people to creating such an attraction.  This left the ending feeling rather abrupt.  It just happened and that was that.  I was hoping for more descriptions concerning the feelings of those experiencing that death and I also wanted to know what happened to Frank!

But all that aside;  I love Davis’ voice, his writing style, and I am looking forward to picking up some of his other work!  Its a good story and an interesting statement about modern (and futuristic) culture.  Who else is a fan of Aric Davis?

Lindsay

Dead Girls Are Easy

by Terri Garey

There’s something about almost dying that makes a girl rethink her priorities. Take Nicki Styx—she was strictly goth and vintage, until a brush with the afterlife leaves her with the ability to see dead people.

Before you can say boo, Atlanta’s ghosts are knocking at Nicki’s door. Now her days consist of reluctantly cleaning up messes left by the dearly departed, leading ghouls to the Light . . . and one-on-one anatomy lessons with Dr. Joe Bascombe, the dreamy surgeon who saved her life. All this catering to the deceased is a real drag, especially for a girl who’d rather be playing hanky-panky with her hunky new boyfriend . . . who’s beginning to think she’s totally nuts.

But things get even more complicated when a friend foolishly sells her soul to the devil, and Nicki’s new gift lands her in some deep voodoo.

As it turns out for Nicki Styx, death was just the beginning.

Amazon and Barnes and Noble must know I read Halloween themed mysteries this time of year.  I have received multiple emails containing reduced-price books in the genre and I just can not resist such temptation.  😉

Dead Girls Are Easy was one such book.  I was intreguied by the premise: young woman momentarily dies but awakes with the ability to see the dead.  Plus, she gets involved with a hot doctor and battles evil voodoo spirits.  Yep, I couldn’t put it down.

I liked Nicki Styx, the ghost magnet, because of how comfortable she is with herself.  I enjoyed her spunky nature and quirkiness; I also enjoyed how she does her best to help each ghost despite the situations it puts her in.  I was a tad annoyed that Garey insisted on portraying Nicki as a ‘shock and awe semi-goth girl.’  She didn’t read like that at all for me.  She is an independent woman with a unique style, and Garey’s insistence came across a little pushy.  I also got a tad frustrated with Nicki’s awkward hesitation to her budding relationship with Joe.  The hesitation was justified, and actually quite believable, but still annoying at times.  And speaking of Joe…loved him!  He’s my type of guy: strong, smart, protective, but comfortable with an independent and stuborn woman.  All of the supporting characters were fun but a tad underdeveloped.    I feel that will just get better as the series progresses because Garey is gifted at making each character unique.  I was just left wanting a tad more this time.

Credit goes to Garey for making my skin crawl through the voodoo scenes!  It was awesome!  But, that’s all I’m going to say…the less you know the more spooky it is!

Dead Girls Are Easy is a fast-paced and fun scare with a good story-line.  Also, take time to check out Terri Garey’s website; she seems just as fun and spunky as Nicki Styx!  Expect many more Halloween/spooky novels over the next few weeks!

Lindsay

A Time to Reap

by Jonas Lee

Pemberton Academy is not just a school, it’s a gathering place for the children of the future that are afflicted with Temporal Displacement and Telepathy; in short, time travelers and mind readers who have been diagnosed with this “disease.” The Academy is not all as it seems after an explosion nearly takes one of its classmates, but not before Carter Gabel rescues her by using an unknown symptom related to his described illness. An unsanctioned group called the Program begins taking notice as the two classmates exhibit stronger abilities when they are together. Carter’s sense of reality begins to unwind as he learns more about his estranged father’s involvement with it all.

Carter will have to overcome the past of his father leaving, the present of an unknown adversary hunting him down and a future that seems to change with each decision he makes. He will have to learn who to trust out of the people in his life if he wants to conquer the looming notion that the government may be hunting him down because of his developing abilities.

A Time to Reap is the first novel an author requested I review.  My husband can attest to the goofy happy dance that resulted from that request so thank you Jonas Lee for the confidence boost!  I am excited to post a review of A Time to Reap!

A Time to Reap is about a young couple, Carter and Mo, with extraordinary talents who are forced to fight for their lives against the organization known as the Program.  Readers experience the story from Carter’s point of view and are in for a treat as Jonas excels at character development. Carter is a snarky teen who has no qualms with talking to himself and a love for ‘classic’ movies and music.  All of the ‘classic culture’ references left me giggling in nerdy delight!  Mo is just as quirky and delightful to read and the two teens made a great team.  Now I am normally the first person to provide an exaggerated eyeroll at novelized teen romances, but Jonas has made the relationship feel real.  I would have no problem being friends with these two cheeky teens.  Also, Jonas has nailed first-person point of view which leaves me awestruck as an aspiring author; first person POV is hard to write!

The one thing that left me frustrated was having to wait to learn all the complex details.  I am not a patient person, and therefore not a patient reader.  I wanted to know more details about Carter’s situation in the beginning of the book.  I had a hard time waiting for Carter to get all the details so I could know them too!

Honestly, this a great debut novel!  Character development is definitely one of Jonas’s gifts and I enjoyed the complex plot A Time to Reap contains.  The story is fun, fast-paced, and full of smartass remarks!  I definitely recommend A Time to Reap, especially if you are looking for a fun YA novel that is thankfully much different than the typical novels currently flooding the market.  Thank you for providing me with a copy Jonas!  I can not wait to read the next installment and now I need to go watch both Push and Ghostbusters!

Has anyone else read A Time to Reap?  What did you think?

Lindsay

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowery

Jonas’ world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

So last weekend I decided to reread The Giver because of the movie based on the book opening August 15th.  The Giver is a staple book taught in middle school English classes through out the United States and I first read it when in my early teens.  I can still remember the feelings enticed by the novel despite having read it over 15 years ago.  Frustration and slight confusion.  But The Giver made me think and I felt it was the perfect time to reread the childhood classic.

Side note:  This will not be a review that breaks down Lowery’s inner messages.  I am not going to provide any political accusation or lectures on morality.  I suggest you browse the Goodreads comment section if that is what you are searching for.  I am going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the novel and how my perceptions of the content has changed since reading it again.

So first things first, The Giver is a children’s book so it lacks the depth and description that most adult readers would look for.  Lowery does leave a number of nuances unexplained, or explained in a fashion that leaves a reader craving more information, but the descriptive language is good for a children’s novel.  I vividly remember my excitement at Jonas seeing the color red.  I remember the tears brought on by Jonas’ confusion and the realization of the true meaning of release.  I remember being quite peeved at the vague ending and rereading it brought these memories back in full force.  Now I am able to digest all of the small details, such as ribbons, jackets, and comfort animals, that I missed in that first reading.  Focusing on these details allowed me to realize the lack of wonder Lowery’s world contains.

The Giver is a dystopian novel, and like all dystopian novels, contains messages concerning society, morality, politics, and the author’s concern for the future.  Just remember that the author’s ethnocentricity courses through the pages; this is why I will not touch the subjects mentioned in the side note.  I recommend The Giver to readers of all ages because Lowery inspires her readers to observe and learn about the world and society that surrounds them.  Forget the moral issues concerning release; forget the accusations that this book calls for young readers to rise against their parents and government.  The Giver forces readers to recognize the small pleasures we have in life, such as seeing colors and hearing music, and it pushes readers to search for both the positive and negative attributes of an ideal or situation before forming opinions.  A prime example is when the Giver reminds Jonas of the helpful effects of the community, no poverty, war, or starvation, when Jonas verbally bashes the society for the restriction of true individuality and quests of enlightenment.  The Giver pushes you to think.

So that is my brief take on the novel.  It is a tad bit more deep than most of my reviews but I felt with was necessary considering this is a book taught to kids.  Definitely take a look, or a second look, at The Giver.  How do you feel about The Giver?   Who else is going to see the movie?

Lindsay

The Reluctant Assassine: W.A.R.P. #1

The Reluctant Assassin: W.A.R.P. #1

by Eoin Colfer

The reluctant assassin is Riley, a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run.
Riley has been pulled into the FBI’s covert W.A.R.P operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley and Chevie must stay alive and stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.

I grabbed an audio copy of The Reluctant Assassin from the local library because I was in need of a good young-adult novel to listen to while running errands. I was also drawn to the story’s premise; the idea of time traveling chase between present-day London and Victorian London is interesting. I was also impressed to find a young-adult book that wasn’t a dystopian novel. Eoin Colfer is widely known for his Artemis Fowl series which I have yet to read, so I started this novel with an unbiased opinion. This is one of the few reviews that does not compare the two series.

Let’s start with some positive points; Colfer’s world building is spot on. Colfer’s descriptions left me feeling like I was in Victorian London instead of cruising the streets of sunny Florida. I could smell the death and despair of The Nickle. I could visualize the opulence of Charismo’s abode and the technical ruggedness of the time portals. Colfer does an outstanding job of providing each time period with its own distinct voice which allows readers to immerse themselves in the ornate settings.

I have mixed feelings about the three main characters. I loved Riley; he is scrappy, spunky, and downright full of the snarky dry British humor that I adore. Riley is the driving character of the novel and I enjoyed listening to his reactions to all the dangerous situations he encounters. I was equally unimpressed with FBI Agent Chevron Savano. She is shallow and more obnoxious and self-important than the snarky girl I believe Colfer was attempting to present. Most of her lines were so cliché that I got sick of listening to her by the end of the second CD. Albert Garrick is a twisted and dark villain who still manages to bring humor to the story. I liked him but I think I would have enjoyed him more if the novel had been shorter.

Which leads to the main issue I had with The Reluctant Assassin; I am not exactly sure what audience this novel is geared towards. It is too drawn out and violent for a children’s novel, but it drags too much and lacks the character development found in a young-adult novel. I believe it would be a good transition novel for kids working their way in to the young adult genre but it is not strong enough to really compete with other available young-adult fiction.

The second book in the W.A.R.P. series came out last June, so I may pick up just to see how the series progresses. Also, I definitely recommend listening to Maxwell Caulfield if you are a fan of audio books. His voice added depth to The Reluctant Assassin and he is wonderfully gifted at distinguishing character personality with his voice. Let me know what you think of the The Reluctant Assassin or Colfer’s other novels.

Lindsay

The Night Circus

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

I enjoyed The Night Circus; it was a pleasant read but not as spectacular as I was led to believe.  Now, Erin Morgenstern definitely has a gift for descriptive narratives because I could vividly picture her world but the novel’s synopsis is misleading.  Le Cirque des Reves arrives in the night and is only open to patrons from sunset to sunrise.  The circus is the setting, and the result, of a competition to the death between two magicians destined for love.

First: This competition is not fierce, once you finally learn what the competition is.  Instead, the event it’s a slow battle that lasts years.  Fierce is just not the proper word; maybe intense is better.  I don’t know.  Second: Celia and Marco do not ‘tumble headfirst into love.’  They are friends with solid respect for each other that can lead to the deep love promised; it just wasn’t there for me.  I felt Celia had a much stronger bond with clockmaker instead of Marco, her rival and supposed lover.  That’s just my opinion.

Le Cirque des Reves is the best part of this novel.  The beautiful circus appears in the night and offers a variety of sweet treats as you wonder among tents full of hidden treasures.  Tents where you can climb the clouds or wander through a frozen forest.  Tents that leave you amazed, and slightly envious, of Erin Morgenstern’s imagination.  My favorite is the clock at the entrance and I actually googled Le Cirque des Reves in hopes that something similar exists.  And yes, I know that the magic would not be real but still!

I recommend The Night Circus. Unless you are craving a swoon-worthy love story; look else ware for that.  I enjoy Morgenstern’s characters, her story twists, and her circus.  Her words had me smelling the smells, tasting the popcorn, and dancing through the circus tents.  I cannot wait to see this book made in to a movie!  Let me know what you thought about The Night Circus.

Lindsay

 

Discount Armageddon

by Seanan McGuire

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…

Discount Armageddon is the first book in the Incripted Series by Seanan McGuire. Verity Price is a competitive ballroom dancer by day and cocktail waitress at Dave’s Fish and Strips, the local strip club, at night. But, as if that wasn’t already a unique lifestyle, Verity also belongs to a family who is dedicated to protecting the cryptid population, all those fairytale creatures that are not supposed to exist, in New York City. She sublets an apartment from a Big Foot and shares her home, and her fridge, with her colony of Aeslin mice. Verity is just a typical twenty-two year old trying to find her niche in the world!

Discount Armageddon is worth reading just for the Aeslin mice. These talking mice are a religious colony dedicated to worshiping and recording history for Price family; they are hysterical due to their love of all-night festivals and demands for fried chicken with a side of chocolate cake. I picked up Discount Armageddon towards the end of my final semester, and it provided the fun adventurous release I was craving after months of writing papers. McGuire does an excellent job of installing the creatures of our childhood, such as the boogeyman, in to the human world; boogeymen own strips clothes, dragon princesses are cocktail waitresses, and cuckoos go to college to study mathematics.

Be prepared to get a little frustrated with Verity. She consistently makes stupid decisions, which left me constantly yelling ‘WHY?” at the paperback clutched in my hands. I reminded myself that this is a coming of age story for our heroine, so I suggest readers do as I did and embrace her youthful tenacity and laugh at her antics.

I enjoyed reading Discount Armageddon as the fast pace writing kept me turning the pages. It is entertaining watching Dominic De Luna, member of the Covenant of St. George, struggle with his feelings for Verity as she drags him all over New York City. Actually, most of the book is pretty entertaining if you don’t take the story line too seriously! Have fun reading Discount Armageddon and let me know what you think of Seanan McGuire!

Lindsay