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Review: Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

May 14, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · Leave a Comment

Pabkin’s One Liner: Like listening to the female version of David Allen Bouche

Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station – and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?

Kitty and the Midnight Hour was a pleasure to listen to as an audio book. Now I don’t usually enjoy talk radio voices – they sound so fake and cheesey. But here it was made so obvious that I couldn’t help but find it entertaining! You could hear the shift in the narrator’s voice when she was on the radio and when she wasn’t.How the whole story unfolds with Kitty and her becoming this midnight hour talk show host for the paranormals is a lot of fun. Some of the questions and scenes were full of chuckles and others could even tug on your heart strings a bit.

I do have to admit that I did NOT like the third person switch in the perspective whenever Kitty would shift into wolf form. It just sounded so detached and impersonal. It made her wolf way less real to me.

I enjoyed the tension between Kitty and who appears to be a possible love interest. This one had a few sex scenes or references to sex just so you know and be prepared for that. There was a convenient info dump towards the end but I didn’t mind that at all, it was setup well enough.

It had good action, plenty of mystery and hey even a disgruntled or grumpy cop who wants the protagonist to assist them with some cases – what urban fantasy is complete with out that? *smirk*

All in all it was an enjoyable book and a great narration job. I’ll definitely be checking out the next book…though I have heard this is a pretty long series.

Tabitha the Pabkins

Kitty and the Midnight Hour

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• This audio book was borrowed from the Library. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 4 stars, audio book, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: vampires, werewolves

Review: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

May 8, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 10 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A more awesome wizard you will never meet!

The novels of the Dresden Files have become synonymous with action-packed urban fantasy and non-stop fun. Storm Front is Jim Butcher’s first novel and introduces his most famous and popular character-Harry Dresden, wizard for hire.

For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry’s eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry’s name. And things are about to get very…interesting.

Storm Front was an instant favorite for me. Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire but I think of him more like a private investigator. The story starts out just like I imagine those old black and white private eye films would. A man sitting in his office, mumbling over his unpaid bills and talking to the viewer or reader. And of course don’t forget the damsel in distress that comes along help that only he could possibly provide. Of course he also consults for the police. His most recent consulting gig with them is for a very grisly double murder, one the only a wizard would be able to do in such a way. And it just so happens that Harry is the only wizard he knows of in the area that might be able to pull something like that off! This is the best kind of urban fantasy you can hope to find. I have read a lot and no one does urban fantasy better or quite like Jim Butcher!

I absolutely LOVED this narration method of how Harry practically talks to the reader. It made me really feel like I was there with Harry and being included. Admittedly, this isn’t the first time I have read Storm Front and it will definitely not be the last. This particular time around though I decided to give the audio book a try. It was awesome and I definitely recommend it. The narrator has a great voice for the part. I especially remember the natural breaths he took between sentences and his flow was so good. It made following very easy and enjoyable.

I have a fangirl type confession *maniacal laughter*, I have a total crush on for Harry Dresden. He is exactly my kind of dream boat. Tall, unkempt and nerdy. What can I say I have a weakness. It’s like that saying with great power comes great responsibility, I get the feeling Harry believes this because he really does try to help, and if he doesn’t woo else will?

A little of what’s in store for the reader…you will meet all sorts of creatures: a vampire (but not the kind you would typically expect), a mob boss (yeah Iclass gin as a creature haha scarier than the vampire in my opinion), a horny side kick skull, crazed sorcerer with visions of grandeur,a frog-faced demon and even a Toot-Toot (that’s his name, oh I want to Squeezle the cute little bugger!) With all the cool stuff that is going on in Storm Front it makes an excellent start to this kick ass series!

Tabitha the Pabkins

Storm Front

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• This audio book was borrowed from the Library. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 5 stars, amazingtastic, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: audio book, demons, Dresden Files, Jim Butcher, vampires, wizards

Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

May 6, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 15 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: A super fun paranormal mystery with a side of ahhh sweet.

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy’s mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who’s always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins’ delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

School Spirits was just what I needed after having read other heavier fantasy. In comparison it was a breathe of fresh air. It was light and funny with endearing somewhat innocent characters.

I know this is categorized as young adult but I would really place it in between middle grade and YA. Mostly because even though these teens are about 16 they seem relatively naive to a lot of things where romance is concerned. I didn’t mind this at all but I’m sure some readers might have issue with it.

Izzy Brannick is descended from a family that make it their life’s mission to hunt and destroy paranormal baddies. Her sister, Finley recently disappeared on a job Izzy was supposed to be helping her with. Now all that’s left of the Brannick family is Izzy and her mom, who seems to think Izzy needs to take things easy. So she packs them off to a small town for ghost haunting which is supposed to be an extremely easy job.

Things get complicated when Izzy starts to make friends despite herself. Her friends are a misfit crew of wannabe ghost hunters, the Paranormal Management Society, PMS – none are cranky that I know of haha.. The members: flamboyant Romy, charming Dex, and distracted Anderson. I adored Dex and his eccentric personality. He feels like an old soul trapped in a young body, he is mischievous and you can see the possible romantic spark between him and Izzy.

The other character I really loved was Torin, a young, yet very old warlock trapped in a mirror. I have a total weakness for bad boys with loose morals.

This adventure moves fast especially considering it wasn’t very action packed. When I finished I immediately bought a copy of Hex Hall also by Rachel Hawkins which School Spirits is a spin off from.

Tabitha the Pabkins

School Spirits

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• This advance reader copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Filed Under: 4.5 rating, amazingtastic, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: ghosts, Hex Hall, magic mirror, Rachel Hawkins, School Spirits, spirits, vampires, warlocks, witches, young adult

Review: Hair Raising (Dan Shamble, Zombie PI #3) by Kevin J. Anderson

May 1, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 5 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: Funny in a ridiculous sort of way, but enjoyable all the same!

Ready-To-Were

The fur really flies when a serial scalper stalks the supernatural citizens of the Unnatural Quarter, targeting werewolves—and what’s sadder than a chrome-domed lycanthrope? Zombie P.I. Dan Shamble is on the case, trying to stop an all-out gang war between full-time and full-moon werewolves. As he combs through the tangled clues to hunt down the bald facts, things get hairy fast.

Shamble lurches through a loony landscape of voodoo tattoo artists, illicit cockatrice fights, body builders assembling make-your-own-human kits, and perhaps scariest of all, crazed fans in town for the Worldwide Horror Convention. Yet the reign of hair-raising terror grows longer. If Shamble can’t snip this off at the roots, the whole world could end up howling mad.

Hair Raising is the third book in the Dan Shable Zombie P.I series by Kevin J. Anderson. I’ve read quite a few of the Dune series (science fiction) books that he co-wrote with Brian Herbert and loved them! This however is nothing like those, which I consider “serious science fiction” books.

I have to say I have NOT read the prior 2 books in this series. What made this great for me was that I didn’t need to. Quite frankly I’m rather tired lately of the series fiction trend that is bombarding the genre. Do I still read series fiction? OF COURSE! – But sometimes it just starts to get tedious knowing there are so many series I need to keep track of or keep current on. This was refreshing because I didn’t feel like I was missing out on important information by not having read the other books. Will I possibly read the other two? Most likely, but I don’t feel like I HAVE to. So if you’re looking for an enjoyable book that can stand on it’s own two feet this is a good one to pick up.

Dan our Zombie P.I. has a ghost for a girlfriend, witches that keep him in running condition, a human cop buddy, a vampire fiction writer who is writing about him, a harpy waitress, and a bunch of other kooky clients that keep him on his toes. He seemed to be running from one case to the next such that I barely wanted to put Hair Raising down.

If you are into monsters, you will find Hair Raising a delight to read. My favorite critter is the cockatrice. If you’ve ever heard of illegal cock fighting, yes chickens, roosters whatever…imagine that but these chickens are some weird mix between chickens and some crazy minitature lizard dragon thing with crazy scales and wings and supposedly some breeds of them can turn you to stone. They are described as ugly but they sound adorable to me – I WANT ONE! You can also expect some good snorty laughs. I don’t want to spoil anything but there is what I found to be a hilarious scene involving a fat zombie soaking in a public hot bath letting loose some particularly nasty pungent farts. Now how can you NOT want to read about that?

Favorite Quote
“It’s just human, or inhuman, nature: People will find a way to make a big deal out of their differences-the smaller, the better. It reminded me of the Mantagues and the Capulets (if I wanted to think highbrow), or the Hatfields and the McCoys (if I wanted to go lowbrow)…or the Jets and the Sharks (if I happened to feel musical).”

Tabitha the Pabkins

Hair Raising

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Filed Under: 4 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: comedy, Dan Shamble, Hair Raising, Kevin J. Anderson, vampires, werewolves, witches, Zombies

Review: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa

April 30, 2013 by Tabitha the Pabkins · 18 Comments

Pabkin’s One Liner: I’ve got your bleeding heart right here!

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

The Eternity Cure hooked me by the eyeballz and didn’t let me go til the very end! Now I enjoyed The Immortal Rules but not like I did The Eternity Cure. For me this sequel was so much better than the first book! A lot of this has to do with Allie and how much she has changed since first becoming a vampire. In plain words, she isn’t such a whiny nit anymore. Ok maybe she wasn’t THAT whiny, haha.

Allie used to drive me nuts with how much she was fighting the instincts of being a vampire. You have to eat to live deary, no getting around it. In this installment she makes no qualms about killing to feed, luckily she just picks off the scum of the earth type humans. A good way to try and salve your conscience, I’ve read many a vampire fiction where the character goes this route. More power to them I say.

No one wants to root for a character that devours innocents for dinner now do they? Oh wait – do they? Well Hell YES – I DO! Because I have to tell you – I absolutely LOVE Jackal. If he had any sidekick henchmen openings I’d be signing right up – as long as I wasn’t just some toady like all those other terds that were his underlings in The Immortal Rules. That’s right we knew he was coming back, and boy is he playing a much bigger role in The Eternity Cure. All I must say about it, is Jackal is the kind of villain I love. He has his reasons and logic for the things he does and hey, to his crazy, selfish self they make complete sense. I can dig it, and I can’t help but laugh at his sense of humor and enjoy every bit of quip and snark he throws Allie’s way.

The mission, should they choose to accept it? Find and rescue their maker Kanin. Among other things along the way. Don’t think you’ve seen the last of Zeke either. He’s in here too of course, what would this be without a little side dish of star crossed romance? The downside…one character that I sooo could not stand makes a comeback here – for awhile anyway *evil laughter*. I’m slathering and giggling maniacally for the next Blood of Eden book!

Tabitha the Pabkins

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)

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Filed Under: 4 stars, book review, Pabkin's Reviews Tagged With: Blood of Eden, julie kagawa, The Eternity Cure, The Immortal Rules, vampires