Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton

So... this is probably the second or third time I've read Blue Moon, though I'm betting it's only the second. I only remembered bitty bits of this book: Jason and Anita getting the vampire-goo off Jason in the shower and Richard's mom's finger getting cut off. The rest was completely pushed out of my mind. Bound to happen with a series that's so long, has so many characters, has so much metaphysics, and so much personal drama to work through. I think much of those last two gets reiterated throughout the series, as there is a need to explain and re-explain just WTF is going on. So I remembered the details of what Anita discovers here, even if I didn't remember the original context.

Ho-boy, that context. I've been rereading these books rather piece-meal lately, so it's very easy to a) drop the book when I'm frustrated and b) make the story last longer. Definitely not the best when reading through frustrating bits, to be honest. And again, the fricking Richard drama frustrates me to no end. I was about halfway through this time and had decided I was going to DNF and just move on, mainly due to the Richard drama. I'm vaguely glad I didn't end up doing that, but it was a very close thing. I was incredibly displeased with Richard's whole stance about being in jail, given what he was in jail for... yes, you definitely need a lawyer if you're falsely accused of rape. Being innocent does not just automatically mean a lawyer is not necessary. Even in cases not involving rape. Get a damn lawyer and don't be an ass to them or the person who hired them for you. Then, of course, there's the continuing relationship drama... I don't think I've ever wanted to punch a character so much in my life. Every time Richard can get in any sort of dig, he goes for it. Like, sir, shut up.

The thing that really, really broke me, though, the thing that was the nail in the DNF coffin, was the pair of humans being able to mostly sneak up on Anita and Jason through a forest apparently teeming with lycanthropes. Nope. Just no. Those two would have been at the very least redirected elsewhere before they ever got close enough for Jason to smell them. Ugh. But I pushed on and was brought to the second piece of SOD madness: Christian Holy Relics BS. This was a piece of this plot I was ridiculously glad to have forgotten. It doesn't even feel like it should be a part of this universe. I get how it obviously is, with Christianity being a thing and all, but it just doesn't feel like it meshes with the rest of the Anita Blake mythos. I just about DNF'd again at the mere mention of it.

Now, there were parts of this book I liked. I like the world-building stuff. Gimmie the troll stuff all day. That was neat. I said the last time trolls were mentioned that I didn't think they really got mentioned again... I was wrong, but now I'm pretty sure in reiterating that statement. I also liked the Damian stuff. I obviously forgot that he goes through it here. Poor Damian. I did appreciate the lore-drop we got from him about Jean-Claude. Poor Nathaniel as well. Our sweet sexy cinnamon roll just cannot catch a break in this book. I also teared up at Jason and Anita's pact to save Richard's mom. Jason and Anita's friendship really blossoms here and that moment felt very earned.

But yeah... the rest of Blue Moon... just didn't like it. The police storyline was just largely annoying, especially given the backstory on that. The werewolf stuff... meh. The vampire stuff... I was annoyed that Colin had apparently forgotten then whole thing about not killing or harming Human Servants... which does come back to bite him in the butt... but yeah, ultimately just annoying.

I'm ultimately not sure if the decision to not DNF was worth it, even given my favorite moments happened after that initial decision... Blue Moon is ultimately forgettable. Yes, it establishes some shit, but... pretty much all of it is reiterated later in the series so if/when I do another Anita Blake reread, I'll probably skip Blue Moon. 

Favorite Lines

"Compassion is not weakness," Richard said. "Only those without compassion think otherwise."

"Real wolves didn't do this shit. Only people could take a nice, sane animal and screw it up this badly." - Anita Blake

"I'll tell you the real horrible truth, Anita. No matter what you do or how bad you feel about it, life just goes on. Life doesn't give a fuck that you're sorry or upset or deranged or tormented. Life just goes on, and you gotta go on with it, or sit in the middle of the road and feel sorry for yourself. And I don't see you doing that." - Jason Schuyler

Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton

Burnt Offerings is, ah, interesting. It further builds out the world in some fun and not-so-fun ways. Really drives home just how monstrous vampires can get while at the same time exposing just how petty they really are. I really did not remember much about this book despite how actually quite important it is in terms of character and concept introduction. The details simply slipped my mind.

Asher giving off Constantine vibes right at the beginning there. I quite like Asher here. He's got his reasons for being the way he is but hasn't yet gone completely off as he does in later books. I won't get into that, though. The point is: Asher's introduction is neat and I like him. I also quite enjoy Warrick. He reminds me some of The Wicked Truth from later books. Warrick doesn't get a lot of "screen time" here, but what he does get is quite impactful. I feel much the same with Gideon and Thomas. I like them in the small amount of "screen time" they're given. And oh yes, last, but ultimately not least, Nathaniel is introduced here. I love Nathaniel and he shall be protected at all costs.

I do believe this book begins the “vampires are really just people on dang power-trips” thing that bugs me soooo much about things like Vampire Councils. The Council members and affiliates get butt-hurt when Anita won’t play ball and be “properly” intimidated or kow-tow to them because they said so. I like how she manages to play them within their own rules, though, once she's properly informed as to what the rules are. The fairly arbitrary rules, it seems like to me, to be honest. Again, vampires are humans with extraordinary powers who could just as easily decimate each other if they didn't have their rules so... that's super fun.

At some point when I was recommending this series to a friend via Threads, someone else said something about Anita being homophobic in the early books. I’ve been on the lookout for evidence of this… doesn’t seem to exist from what I can tell. Even here, she tries to get The Traveler to vacate Willie’s body because Willie doesn’t like men and The Traveler does. She isn’t insulting about it, just matter-of-fact about respecting someone else’s preferences. She also doesn't say anything about Gwen & Sylvie. At this point, I'm largely finding any homophobic comments are in the context of the cops and are on par with what they say about the "monsters" as well. That doesn't make them right, of course, or the comments non-existent, but so far... nothing entirely shocking or out of the ordinary for the context. I'd also like to make it clear that I don't condone these comments any more than I condone what was said to Detective Perry in an earlier book.

Interesting discussions here about the nature of the monsters, leadership, and what it means to be part of society. I think it’s interesting that vampires, or at least The Council, think themselves apart from human society still. What Anita tells The Traveler is correct on all counts: leadership comes with a responsibility to those you lead and letting yourselves become legal in society also means responsibility toward that society. Of course this discussion also comes as part of an issue with trying to save what, just four years ago in-world, would have been deemed monsters and not worth saving. Add to that the whole thing with the lycanthropes at the hospital… I wouldn’t quote me on this at all, but what happened to Lorraine has to have happened irl to Black men in the past when they saved the lives of White people (at least I hope that kind of thing is past… the world today… smh).

“There’s the possibility of disease contamination if there are bodies floating in the basement,” - Lieutenant Wren — misconception. Dead bodies do not carry disease and I HIGHLY doubt anything carrying disease would have had time to get to these particular bodies. If you'd like to know more about this stuff, I highly recommend checking out "AskAMortician" over on YouTube. This isn't super relevant to the plot, but clearly jumped out at me to mention.

If it weren't for the inclusion of forcing the Vampire Council to do some actual leadership, I would say the police stuff felt quite tacked on. It came at a point in the book where it felt very sudden, which I suppose any terrorist activity does. Make no mistake, what Humans First did was terrorism. It also ended up giving Dolph another opportunity to lecture Anita about dating "the monsters," which I don't think she needed after Ronnie essentially said the same stuff. I personally find the third party lectures about the whole thing annoying at best.

Speaking of the whole thing and third parties... Richard is a giant turd here. Just the whole book until the very, very end, Richard is too wrapped up in his own pity party. I get taking it out on Anita, since they're exes, but it's highly inappropriate in a majority of the situations he does it in. Stop parading your shit in private while people are literally bleeding around you. Geez.

So yeah... Burnt Offerings is interesting. Much drama. Gorey vampire shenanigans. World-building. Ultimately quite fun.

Favorite Lines

"Just because it doesn't have fangs doesn't mean it can't kill you." - Anita Blake

"Love is never free, Jean-Clause. It is the most expensive emotion we have, and I am going to see that you pay it in full." - Asher

"Love isn't the most expensive emotion, Asher," I said. I took another step forward, and he retreated another step. "Hate is. Because hate will eat you up inside and destroy you, long before it kills you." - Anita Blake

"Leadership doesn't just mean privileges. It has a price tag." - Anita Blake

"It's their job to do this. You don't bargain to get someone to do what they're supposed to do in the first place." - Anita Blake 

In Other News

Yet another OviPets project done! These are an approximation of the Digimon "Sakkutomon" for my "Village of Beginnings" project line. They took me about 4 months to do.

The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton

Double Reread Reviews!

This review written after a reread. (2017)

Okay so, The Killing Dance has pacing issues, which is a thing I'm starting to notice about some of the Anita Blake series. There are so many action and plot beats and then something metaphysical happens and everything just grinds to a halt... and then picks up again afterward. I understand that exploring whatever the metaphysical thing was is important, but... the grind to a halt this time really stuck out to me.

Also... Richard. I haven't reread the series in a while so I forgot exactly where my general hatred of Richard started... this might be it. He just has too many issues and resolves absolutely none of them. I guess he wouldn't be interesting without his issues but... I don't enjoy the discovery of those issues at all. That said, good on him for following through with the whole Marcus thing. It's about damn time.

Speaking of Marcus, I remembered that scene being a lot longer than it was. Might just be my brain blowing it up because I was so focused on it before, but it was surprisingly short.

But anyway, I did enjoy reading The Killing Dance again. I just want to pat Anita on the head and assure her that this Jean-Claude/Richard thing is going to be the least of her relationship worries down the line...

2025 Reread

I definitely feel like I keep making a mistake while rereading these: the mistake of essentially drawing out the stuff I don’t like. It’s so easy, when you only read in the bathroom, like I’ve been doing lately. No way to really power through the cringe when there’s a limited amount of time to read. But hey, I made it. The Killing Dance true beginning of the metaphysical Anita Blake shenanigans. I’d remembered bits and pieces of The Killing Dance, but it’s mostly forgettable… what with what is essentially a deep-dive into why Anita and Richard as a couple just won’t work. God, I hate Richard.

It still really, REALLY bugs me that neither Richard nor Jean-Claude explain the rules to her at any point until she absolutely NEEDS to know. I don’t remember if that’s ever remedied with anyone ever, but it honestly pisses me off. No wonder she keeps getting in over her head. She doesn’t have all the information she should if she’s expected to have anything to do with vampire or werewolf society. I know Richard planned to keep her well out of it, but that was just stupidity on his part, if we’re all honest.

I do not blame Richard for being so insecure. I find it cringy as hell that he is and tries to guilt Anita into sharing his insecurities, but I don’t blame him for his feelings. It makes me crazy that Richard keeps moving the goal posts, too. First it’s “see me change” and then it’s “gotta see all of us, not just me.” Sir, make up your damn mind.

I really like Sabin as a cautionary tale. It’s great to get a tangible reason as to why Hamilton’s vampires don’t just eat animals as opposed to chowing down on humans. Very well done and creepy af to boot.

I was also not so fond of Dolph’s attitude toward Anita’s dating life. They might be close professionally, but I’ve never felt they were close enough for those conversations. Apparently, Dolph does not agree, and I know how it can get between coworkers but still… it’s my opinion that Dolph needs to mind his own business in regard to Anita’s personal life.

Raw reaction to an explanation of Triumvirates: Hahahahahahaha… two cases of Triumvirates? Only two??? Really? Hahahahahahahahahaha. I don’t remember if this is “real” info or just something that isn’t discussed but… yeah. Guess we’ll find out.

I really quite like the ending beats. Everything from the lukoi getting together to the very end. It’s satisfying. I definitely skimmed the sex scene, but that’s a me thing. I assume it was hot, from what I remember.

But yeah… pretty sure that’s the end of my thoughts on this one. The Killing Dance was okay, for the most part. 

Favorite Lines

"The only good enemy is a dead enemy." - Edward

"A threat's not worth anything if you aren't willing to back it up." - Anita Blake

"Homicide was not something you could be neutral on." - Anita Blake 

In Other News

I completed my Seadramon project over on OviPets! Seadramon took me approximately a year and 2 months to complete. Based on the Digimon of the same name. Part of my Adult Digimon project series.

Bloody Bones by Laurell K. Hamilton

According to my previous rating of 5 stars, I was definitely a lot more into Bloody Bones than I am now. (Down to 3 stars) It's alright and boy, does it go a mile a minute once we meet Seraphina... but that mile a minute-ness is actually what made me dislike it more this time around. I feel like a lot happened in too short of a time-frame to make the plot fit and go where it needed to. I really feel like the ultimate solution to Rawhead and Bloody Bones was too easy. Aaand then there's the first real taste of what vampire "politics" are like in the Anita Blake universe, which I also hate with a seething passion.

So... first, on a reread it's actually kind of nice to "experience" Anita traveling pre-entorage. Larry definitely doesn't count. We don't have 5000 characters to keep track of at any given moment. Just Anita and Larry joined by Jean-Claude and Jason. Very chill. Kind of miss that.

I did enjoy, as usual, further expansion of the Anita Blake world with the fairy stuff. This is one of the very few times Anita comes up against fairies... honestly mostly lack-luster. I'm not a fan of Dorcas, but Magnus was at least as menacing as he needed to be. Rawhead and Bloody Bones was semi-interesting before his end... his lore was a lot more interesting than the actual beastie, in my opinion.

Okay, so, vampire "politics" and show-boating and all the "we're gonna play with our food" crap... I get we gotta have vampires shown to be much more dangerous, but I hate it. I honestly feel this is an extension of their humanity showing through. You've got the power to intimidate so you gotta throw it in the faces of your rivals. I get it. This was particularly drawn out by Janos and his rotting ladies. I like that there's more than one type of vampire, and honestly, that scene, or rather, the aftermath, did very much endear Jason to me. However, the manipulation aspect of it bugs the shit out of me. Consent with a coercion backer does not mean actual consent, no matter whose life appears to be on the line. This also happens pretty much non-stop from the moment Anita and the boys arrive at Seraphina's. Anita, we're about to torture some girls to get you to let us torture you instead. Anita, we're gonna kill Larry. Anita, we're gonna kill Jeff. Anita, Larry's about to get killed again. On and on. Ugh. I hate it.

I legit spent about 4 days avoiding the Janos-in-the-basement-scene. Weird, honestly, because I'd forgotten that trauma happens this early in the series... but my brain remembered. I skimmed it, this time, just to get it over with. Read the rest of the book in about 24hrs.

So yeah, I'm a lot less into Bloody Bones than I was originally. I really found a lot of it repetitive in how it forced the plot to move along. I did like the very ending, though. It was interesting, if also kind of confusing... but not a bad ending at all. 

Favorite Lines

"You've just admitted you don't know anything about my job," I said. "How do you know what will affect it and what won't?" - Anita Blake

"A vampire was a person once. Just being dead doesn't cure you of any problems you had as a live human being. If you have a violent pathology before death, that won't change just because you're dead." - Anita Blake

"It's alright," I said. "Carrot's inert." - Anita Blake 

In Other News

As of posting this, I'm one hatching away from finishing my Ebonwumon project over on OviPets. Gonna go ahead and post about this now so I don't end up forgetting later. Ebonwumon is part of my Mega Digimon Project and based on the Digimon of the same name. I did the tattoos on their heads to mimic the helmet-things on the two-headed Digimon. I also did the tail tattoo.

Ebonwumon took me about 13 months to complete.

Ebonwumon

The Lunatic Cafe by Laurell K. Hamilton

Beware of spoilers if you have not read the book. Otherwise, read on.

So, I spent a lot of this time reading The Lunatic Cafe this time focused on Anita and Richard and their relationship. I said in my review of Circus of the Damned that I'm really not a fan of Richard and that definitely still holds true. I feel he's all wrong for Anita and know he's not super secure in himself at this point, so them getting engaged in this book was just... blech. I'll definitely be getting more into that later in this review. The B-Plot with the shapeshifters and lycanthropes isn't my favorite of the police-centric stories, but it's definitely not bad. I'm honestly surprised the sort of thing it turns out to be doesn't end up being more prevalent in the series... but then, that would probably be too repetitious... and the antagonists do all die in the end so... yeah.

It's always interesting to get more preternatural world-building. I don’t think we hear much, if anything else about gargoyles and trolls through the rest of the series. Interesting to know they exist, though. We also get our first big encounter with witches, so that's fun. I really do feel like the way Hamilton does her world-building makes the Anita Blake universe feel very lived in. We get trickles of information from what Anita encounters when she encounters it, but never in large info-dumps. I appreciate it a lot.

Sheriff Titus and Officer Aikensen, first in a long line of cops Anita has to convince she knows wtf she’s doing. Being assholes basically just to be assholes. These guys never fail to piss me off. I find myself skimming those parts lately, more often than not. This time they had the added bonus of pissing me off more toward the end of the book... I can just hear Titus' slimy "good ol' boy" voice in my head as I read his dialogue. I fully believe Aikensen deserves his fate.

We also get another impatient antagonist in Marcus. Like, dude, allow for scheduling meetings for the next day, ESPECIALLY if it’s frigging 2am. This intimidation tactic really reads as annoying af. I also find it extremely annoying when the sub-cultures introduce and enforce rules on the humans (it’s generally humans) who have zero clue what’s even going on. Especially when those people used to be completely human themselves and/or have to exist in human society. Like, wtf are you even doing expecting someone who has no clue what’s going on to know this shit or agree to it? Like, yes, okay, explain it to them, but don’t expect the newbies to follow immediately. Express an expectation that the newbie will be held to the “laws” or whatever the next time ya’ll interact. Ugh. Frankly, this whole thing with Marcus, at least the beginning of it, really did not need to be or turn into what it did. He could/should have set up a meeting with Anita alone. But hey, gotta set him -- and Raina -- up for later installments.

Alright, now for the relationship discussion. I have THOUGHTS.

The following two paragraphs are verbatim notes I took as I was reading:

I feel like the conversation about “happily ever afters” at the end of Anita and Richard’s date really highlights why the pair of them just won’t work. This doesn’t exactly come out until later, but Richard’s insistence on that white picket fence mentality despite knowing all along that what Anita does isn’t conducive to that… big red flag. I would have liked to see where that conversation would have gone if Jean-Claude hadn’t derailed it.

How the fuck was Anita supposed to “take care of yourself” when she a) doesn’t know what’s going on and b) doesn’t know the dang rules, Richard? Wtf, man. Keeping her out of it clearly did her no good. Also, Jean-Claude using her against Nikolaos was totally different than the whole Marcus thing. Jean-Claude and Anita weren’t even close to dating at the time. You tell people you’re dating about your big life things, especially when it’ll probably get you killed.

Oooooh the absolute hilarity of Anita waiting for marriage… Also… Richard’s very quick “well let’s get married then”… oooof. Ya’ll haven’t been dating that long… not that people haven’t been a roaring success with a short dating period but… ya’ll also have some serious differing life opinions you need to sort out first. Ooof.

End notes.

Okay, so… Anita and Richard basically have a good chunk of issues. Mainly because Richard doesn’t believe Anita’s really as tough-as-nails and Anita had zero clue what she was getting herself into with Richard and his Beast. This does not go away and, from what I remember about the rest of the series, only really gets worse. Hamilton pretty much states this herself in the Afterword. Richard also clearly has issues with the Beast side of himself, so… yeah. That contributes a lot. Anyway, them getting engaged this early was honestly really stupid, in my opinion, for all the reasons I’ve stated here.

I also really hate Jean-Claude’s whole “I would like to date you for the same amount of time he did and I won’t kill him” thing. Coercion is not a green flag. While ultimately, I think Jean-Claude is the better partner for Anita (just between him and Richard), the beginning of their relationship is gross. First the vampire marks against her will, then the coercive dating... I was reading the bit where Jean-Claude shows up at Anita's apartment after her dip in the icy river and ranting aloud to my boyfriend about how it's all really stupid and everyone is being an asshole... The whole thing is super problematic and I hate it. There are reasons Romance is not my genre.

Anyway... The Lunatic Cafe is a solid fourth entry in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. It really does focus a lot on the issues Anita and Richard have, I didn't just pull all those notes and stuff out of thin air. I'm mostly satisfied with where and how this ended. And oh yeah, Jason's first appearance! 

Favorite Lines

"There are more roads to monsterdom than most people realize." - Anita Blake

"If you do not help and protect those who are less able than you, weaker than you, what good are you? No damn good at all." - Laurell K. Hamilton

An Illustrative Couple of Paragraphs

Please, for the love of all that is Holy, discuss this stuff with your SO well BEFORE you decide to tie the knot. I feel like these paragraphs say a lot about why Richard and Anita shouldn't have gotten engaged in this book... clearly not all, but A LOT.

Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton

So, rereading this one was interesting. There’s a lot of setup here for future stuff. More with the vampire marks, Richard and Larry’s introductions, the creation of Humans First, and the solidification of Jean-Claude as Master of St. Louis. It’s a lot and yet somehow manages to work fairly well.

Talking about characters, as this is a reread, is a bit tricky. My opinions are very colored by the future actions of them… well… Richard. I’m mainly kind of conflicted about Richard. Larry’s fine. I like Larry. I had forgotten he was introduced to early, but other than that, he’s fine. No notes. Richard, on the other hand… I think I remember liking Richard to begin with. He comes across as earnest, good-ol’-boy kind of, hampered by the reveal Hamilton wanted to do with him. But otherwise, he seems fine. Future events do color this and I just found myself rolling my eyes some at him. But I won’t get into that otherwise due to spoilers.

I enjoyed Edward and Anita’s continuing relationship. Edward’s always fun. I’ve always enjoyed him, even if he shows up initially to threaten to torture Anita twice in as many books. Their dynamic is one of my favorites going forward.

I think Oliver was… uh… he was there. He was really mostly threatening in the background. Again, this is colored by the reread. I knew how this ended. I did get Alejandro mixed up with a different Alejandro from a different series… of course I can’t remember which one off the top of my head. Alejandro seems to be a popular name among the Aztec vampires… so he sprouted a backstory that wasn’t actually his. 🤪

I did find the actual events of the book went by rather quickly. I did notice Anita got more sleep this time around, though not by much. Starting off the trend of her not quite taking care of herself as she should. I had also completely forgotten that Humans First was started in-series as opposed to Humans Against Vampires. That was kinda neat. I also very much enjoyed the Anita/Zerbowski relationship. They’re quite fun together as well… though definitely not in a romantic sense.

So yeah, Circus of the Damned was pretty solid. Got in some good world and character building.

Favorite Lines

"There are also a lot of very jerky men in the twenty-one-to-thirty age group." - Anita Blake

"Please, I always use fresh sarcasm, never canned." - Anita Blake

"When all else fails, hide. It works for rabbits." - Anita Blake

"How can you possibly torture someone without bamboo slivers?" - Anita Blake

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

2025 Reread Review - Mostly spoiler free

I really like The Laughing Corpse. It establishes Anita as a Power in her own right, not just going to be adjacent to Jean-Claude. It also establishes the differences between what Anita does and stuff like witchcraft and voodoo, mostly voodoo. I think getting that out of the way early in the series was a good call. Zombies are, after all, a fixture of what a lot of people think about when they think about voodoo. I also like that the antagonists are human, if powered humans... well, Dominga is anyway. I could really have done without Harold Gaynor and his bodyguards... but the exist so... *much shrugging.*

What is it with men looking at women wielding guns or other weaponry (usually guns, though) and suddenly being all “you’re not so tough without the weapon”? Like, maybe, but also… odds are, the man is bigger than the woman. Odds are, in a straight fight, the man is going to best the woman. We know this, that’s why we have a weapon in the first place. It's why you have a weapon in the first place. You also think you’re as intimidating without a weapon? No. Posturing does not make you inherently better. Bruno, Tommy, Enzo, and Antonio all bug the shit out of me with this macho nonsense. I guess it's a good characteristic of a ruthless bodyguard but... blech.

It is just too funny reading the chapter at Dead Dave’s, especially the end. Anita just has no clue about Jean-Claude’s powers and, of course, neither does Irving. Irving definitely wouldn’t be much help at all against Jean-Claude. Part of why I love rereading this stuff is the unintentional hilarity of certain parts given what happens later in the series. It's quite well done.

I like how Anita’s backstory is dropped here, along with how her powers tend to work. The animator stuff tends to get overpowered by other things in later books. The Laughing Corpse establishes Anita's necromantic abilities quite well. It's fun to see her flex those muscles in slightly more controlled environments than she does down the line.

I had honestly forgotten how big of a role Wanda plays in this book. I know Laurell K. Hamilton has said something recently-ish about her coming back into the series, but I hadn't remembered the extent to which she was even in this. I like her. Can't wait to see her again.

So yeah, I had a lot of fun rereading The Laughing Corpse. My very last thought about the book is this: I do not remember the business of the same name ever coming back in the series... which doesn't really surprise me. Anita was a not a fan so I don't know why she'd ever go back there. 

Favorite Lines/Conversations

"Rule number three hundred sixty-nine when dealing with unfamiliar magic: when in doubt, leave it alone." - Anita Blake

"Suspicion is healthy. It'll keep you alive." - Anita Blake

     "I have no personal stake in these people, Jean-Claude, but they are people. Good, bad, or indifferent, they are alive, and no one has the right to just arbitrarily snuff them out."

     "So it is the sanctity of life you cling to?"

     I nodded. "That and the fact that every human being is special. Every death is a loss of something precious and irreplaceable." I looked at him as I finished the last.

     "You have killed before, Anita. You have destroyed that which is irreplaceable." 

     "I'm irreplaceable, too," I said. "No one has the right to kill me, either." - Anita Blake & Jean-Claude

"She doesn't have a superior," Zerbowski said, "but we'll tell her boss." 

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

2025 Reread Review - 99% spoiler free

The hilarity of those last two lines, though...

Anyway... I've read Guilty Pleasures at least 4 times, probably more. It's one of those fun vampire hunter books that focuses pretty solidly on the vampire hunting. There's little to no actual romance, which was something that really drew me to the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series in the first place... if only I knew. Heh. Anyway, in this, the 31st year of publication, I'm revisiting the entire series again. I will try very hard not to include spoilers past the book I'm currently reading, though spoilers for previous books are fair game.

When I originally read Guilty Pleasures I was absolutely terrified of Nikolaos. Little girl vampires are just creepy and Nikolaos takes it to another level. However, I think reading the graphic novel adaptation has cured me of my terror... though it might also just be that I'm much older now and have experienced more terrifying things than a little girl vampire. I will admit, though, Nikolaos is very much of that "I'm going to be stupidly impatient with the person I hire to do a job" kind of villain. I know there's technically plot reasons behind this, but she calls Anita back for some kind of update not even 24hrs after first "hiring" her and that bugs me. It also bugs me that we've gotta play terror games to get Anita to do what Nikolaos wants her to do, but I guess if Anita's able to just refuse her, there's no story.

It's also quite fun for me to see "Baby Anita" and "Baby Edward" before they know all the things. It's kind of like watching the beginning of Buffy or Supernatural and being like "Oh, my sweet, sweet children. You know so little..." followed by delighted maniacal laughter on my part. Even Anita and Edward's relationship at this point is cute, given how it goes in later books. Apparently Jean-Claude in this book is not the fully-formed Jean-Claude in my brain. His "voice" refused to show up as I was reading... if that makes sense to anyone besides me.

I did enjoy the progression of the story. Having been so long since my last reread, I'd forgotten who done it, so that was a nice rediscovery. I also like the gradual world-building and creature-building. A slow progression of info drops about how vampires, Animators, and then lycanthropes work. Nice, also, that the main lycanthropes are rats instead of wolves.

Anyway, I highly recommend Guilty Pleasures and the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series in general. They're fun and I'm looking forward to revisiting them.

 

Favorite Lines

"I remembered when eighteen was grown-up. I had thought I knew everything. I was about twenty-one when I figured out I knew dip-wad. I still knew nothing, but I tried real hard. Sometimes, that is the best you can do. Maybe the best anyone can do." - Anita Blake

"You could probably have eaten off the carpeting if you had wanted to, but you would have gotten fuzzies in your mouth. No amount of Lysol would get rid of carpet fuzzies." - Anita Blake

"Great, we're going to be eaten alive because neither one of us smokes." - Edward 

The Dragon Guard by Emily Drake

2025 Reread

I honestly don't think I've read a more frustrating book in a while. I really pushed myself through this one, which I can only hope gets paid off in the next one... which was the entire reason I kept reading. the Dragon Guard is severely choppy, the characters make the most frustrating decisions, and it didn't really come together until the second half and even then it's still really choppy.

I honestly don't think the strategy of switching up POVs worked well. There were just too many characters to get away with doing so. There's one point, before Jason's big soccer game, where we check in with Ting... a nothing-burger of a check in. Made me want to throw the book across the bathroom I've been reading it in. It just felt severely unfocused.

The issue of the adult characters also rears its head again. I have a whole list on my phone haranguing Gavan's really bad planning in terms of teaching the 7 Magicker children... one of whom (Danno) is barely mentioned and apparently just fine off wherever he ended up. Tomaz just fucks off for most of the book on his own project, Eleanora is knocked out because of the whole Jennifer thing, and Aunt Freya is doing something secretive that makes her unhelpful. That's not even mentioning Khalil and Isabella... one of which has a very spoiler-ific reveal so I won't be talking about it, but it's still... ugh. So frustrating. Anyway, the main issue is Gavan wanting to do this Academy thing and not having the resources to even teach 7 kids or get the results he wants out of Jason in particular... just... what the hell, man.

Which then brings me to Jon and Brennard. Yeah... Brennard's supposed to be giving this "Dark Lord" energy and he's just not. Jon's largely usurping that, but also isn't at the same time. They really don't do a whole heck of a lot except loom in the background, being very, very vaguely menacing. I just... my head's smacking a wall with how much I, as a reader, do not care about the "villains" of the piece.

I do care a lot more about Jason. Jason is a good POV character. He's the main character we should be following the entire time, but, as I said to begin with, The Dragon Guard is just so choppy. It's like Drake was unsure as to whether or not Jason could hold the story on his own and so had to keep switching POVs because Jason couldn't be everywhere... which is fair, but also, as I'm typing this, I'm thinking about the "runtime" of the book. I think having Jason be the main POV character would have made the book shorter as well. I don't personally think that would have been a bad thing, but... yeah. It's just too much.

I am really, really hoping The Bone Gate is better. I truly don't remember, just like I only remembered, like, two details from The Dragon Guard. It's been a long while. 

 

Reasons I'm Annoyed At Gavan In Particular

1. Gavan really should have thought out his Academy project a lot better before even trying to start Ravenwyng. That whole thing was severely bungled.

2. Bailey's Dad discovered she's doing Magick because she got scared and of course she was gonna teleport out of the situation. She's got no backup or anyone helpful to talk to about the situation.

3. Basically the entirety of The Curse of Arkady... which we also actually learn about a damn book later.

4. Jason inadvertently pissing off his dragon friend, because, again with the scared kids who can teleport using that as a resource mainly due to not having anything else to lean on.

5. Basically everything Jason yells at Gavan about. Their training is crapola and basically non-existent in these books. 

6. Gavan's so-called allies are basically doing nothing to help... at all.

7. Shit that's happening to Henry because of Jonnard.

8. Jason got more training in, like, 2 days with Ting's grandmother than he did in any of his time with Gavan or the other Magickers. She's not even a "proper" Magicker! 

Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Token of Darkness is really just a whatever story. Although listed as a Den of Shadows book, it's pretty well divorced from the rest of the series. There are zero links back to any characters or settings. The only thing it has in common with the rest of the Den of Shadows is the world it inhabits. It doesn't even really feel like a Den of Shadows book, if that makes sense. Like... the feeling I get picking up any of the other books just isn't there with this one.

It was kind of fun getting to see how human sorcerers (those not born with innate magic) dealt with magic and the supernatural in this world. Kind of. It wasn't at all fleshed out. Elementals are apparently a thing. They can be summoned and maybe controlled but... eh. Human telepaths are also a thing... which I think we kind of knew but... again, eh.

Token of Darkness I guess satisfactorily ends, but really feels more like a petering out, which I never enjoy. I'm really not sure what, if anything, is going to end up happening with Cooper and Samantha. It's all up in the air and just... more eh.

Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire

Well this was fun. I somehow skipped Aftermarket Afterlife and didn't realize until after I'd written my review of Installment Immortality... which means I had some of the bones of Aftermarket Afterlife already in my head as I was reading. I knew about Jane and the Covenant plan and essentially how things worked out, I just didn't have the details. Getting those details was, as usual with McGuire's writing, quite the ride.

Aftermarket Afterlife captures the chaos around reunions, death, and danger among a family that's part biological and part found and very much spread out. Mary's the perfect vehicle for that. I cannot imagine how she managed to do some of that stuff and serve the Crossroads at the same time before Annie put the anima mundi back in charge. Just the insanity of bouncing between family members... whew. I could never.

I definitely cried during part of this book, though it wasn't exactly a part that should probably have had tears involved... I dunno. I'm a sucker for community coming together and honestly, the big family Zoom-call did it. Just at the beginning of the main plot, go figure. Aftermarket Afterlife is truly an ensemble piece that kind of felt like a finale (though obviously I knew it wasn't). I loved getting to see the disparate groups of Price family members just doing their thing, for the most part.

I only have a couple more notes. Leonard Cunningham was giving me big Gaston (Disney's Beauty and the Beast ) vibes. I could definitely hear Annie rolling her eyes at him. The further world-building of the Twilight and ghost-y stuff was kind of fun. Love me some world-building. But yeah. Aftermarket Afterlife was definitely solid and a good read.

Favorite Lines

"Torturing racists is a moral obligation," - Sally Price

 

"Yeah, no. Forgiveness isn't an obligation. It doesn't get to be. You forgive someone when you want to, or when the anger gets too heavy yo carry around anymore. No one gets to tell you it's time. Time may never come." - Rose Marshall

 

"Saying 'sorry' isn't like casting a magic spell. Even if you do it with all the sincerity in the world, it doesn't fix the things you broke. It doesn't undo what you did." - Jane Harrington-Price

 

"No one chooses who their parents are going to be, or what species they're going to be born as. People are just people. It's what they do that matters, not how they're born." - Mary Dunlavy

 

    "What have I told you about throwing knives at everything that startles you?" I asked.

     "That it's antisocial and doesn't make me a very good neighbor," she replied.

     "And what did you just do?"

     "Threw a knife at my babysitter." - Mary Dunlavy & Antimony "Annie" Price

"Dreaming of You in Freefall"

Honestly a very fun novella, despite Verity's grieving. Well... also because of it. The image of a dragon offering a hug and getting covered in snot is funny. Lots of dragon stuff plus Verity being a badass, definitely worth the read.

To Visit the Queen by Diane Duane

A Spoiler-Free Reread Review

I had a lot more fun with To Visit the Queen than I did with The Book of Night with Moon. I’m not sure exactly why this is, but *much shrugging.* I found To Visit the Queen to be delightful. A good mix of time travel and alternate universes, I think.

There is a lot of details concerning the gates and the time travel aspects of the plot. Like, a lot. I didn’t find it particularly mind-numbing, though I may have read it and immediately forgotten most of it. I like the detail, though, makes things more grounded, I think. Gives the reader something to look up later, if they wish, or just kind of go with.

To Visit the Queen also scratched a bit at my Anglophile brain. Very Doctor Who vibes, if I’m honest. (Probably also why I can hand-wave the techno-babble) Rhiow and the team spend just enough time running around London, or bits of it anyway, to amuse me. And, of course, things being centered around Queen Victoria was also a draw.

I also appreciated the fallout surrounding Rhiow’s human. It’s nice to have some follow-through as opposed to just “Rhiow’s human’s dead now and her partner doesn’t want the cat, so Rhiow’s a free agent now” kind of a thing. Duane’s good at the grief follow-through. It’s a big theme of the Young Wizards series more-so than this one, but I like that it’s there nonetheless.

I did remember about Arhu and Siffha’ah’s relationship from my reread, so I did spend a bunch of time wondering when that was going to come to a head as I didn’t remember the exact details. Same with Auhlae’s whole thing. I also remembered Artie, after he showed up. I won’t say more about that stuff, though, as it does spoil things.

Overall, To Visit the Queen was quite good. Definitely not prefect, but perfectly enjoyable.

Favorite Lines

"Telling it won't help," he said. "You've got to ask nicely. Most things in the Universe react positively to that. Sass them, and they get stubborn." - Urruah

     "You are little angels of God."

     "Please, madam," Arhu said, "don't get confused. We're cats." - Queen Victoria & Arhu

The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane

Spoiler-Free Reread Review

The Book of Night with Moon was not what my brain wanted, this time around. That does not mean it wasn't a good book (it is), it just wasn't what my brain is vibing with at the moment. The Book of Night with Moon is, for a book featuring cats as the main characters, less escapist than one would think. It is very much rooted in the real world and a good chunk of the darkness that surrounds us all. Also not saying The Book of Night with Moon is a dark book... just contemplative about life. I didn't remember that from my first read... and what I did remember was super small potatoes, as far as the story is concerned. I think the technical stuff just didn't want to stick in my brain either.

Anyway, I really did and do enjoy the world-building here. As a fan of the Young Wizards series, getting a more expanded world-view is a lot of fun. The Book of Night with Moon follows a entirely different species of wizards that are at the same time super familiar and alien. After all, do we really know what's going on with our cats at any given moment? It was also interesting getting a view of a new wizard from an older wizard's standpoint. Arhu is a cute character... though I think he comes into his own more in the next book, if memory serves.

I wasn't super fond of the ultimate quest thing at the end... Rhiow and the gang getting down to where they needed to get honestly felt quite tedious. I'm not at all attached with Ith, which I think mostly mirrors Rhiow's feelings on the matter... which makes sense, given her emotional state at the time.

I was honestly much more hyped on my scant memories of The Book of Night with Moon than I was reading it. It felt heavier, this time.

Favorite Line

"Kitling, we got a saying in this business. 'Stupidity can be accidental. Ignorance is on purpose.' Ignorance gets your ears shredded. The only thing that saved you is, you asked the question. Always ask. You may get your ears shredded anyway, but afterward you'll still be alive to wear them. Maybe." - Ehef

In Other News

I finished another OviPets project! Another in my "Mystique Color Series." This one's called a Testa. Took me about 8 months to complete.

 

Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire

Well... I'm shook. I apparently missed an InCryptid book. It doesn't quite matter, I don't think. I read Installment Immortality thinking it was #13 and there's enough retreading of backstory that it felt like I'd read it... aaaaahhhhhhhhhh. I'm facepalming so hard right now. Just ordered Aftermarket Afterlife. Anyway... here's my review of Installment Immortality. Enjoy.

 

So, although I am definitely more into the Cryptid side of the Incryptid series, I do enjoy the occasional dip into the ghostly side. Mary’s been an interesting character, even moreso now, I think, that the Crossroads are gone. I really like that there are so many different kinds of ghosts, which I’m sure we knew, but I honestly kind of forgot. It’s been a while since the last Incryptid book, so my memory’s a bit… holy. Lol.

I like that we got more of the Harrington-Price branch of the family. Elsie’s quite fun and I liked getting a peek at how Arthur’s doing… not well, apparently, but I feel like that’s more a function of him being stuck around people who knew him as Artie than anything else. Arthur needs to figure out how to get out more and figure out who he is despite his inserted Artie memories, in my opinion. It was also interesting to see how they’re handing the Aeslin mice situation. I’m not sure we’d have gotten much of the mice this book anyway, but I did sort of miss them.

Installment Immortality was fun. I like Mary. I like seeing her interact with different members of the family and the ghost community as well as other Cryptids who have heard of her.

Last thing: The Covenant really just needs to give up the ghost, so to speak. If what Heitor told Mary was true, they shouldn’t be a problem for the Price’s much longer… and good riddance, honestly.

Favorite Lines 

"Sexism can help you narrow the field, when you know how to apply it." - Mary Dunlavy

"She'll figure out where she wants to point it sooner or later, and then a lot of shit is going to be on fire. Metaphorically. Actual fir is Antimony's job." - Aeslin Mouse

"Annie's more than moderately terrifying," I said. "She's probably the culmination of all the traits the Covenant was breeding for when they introduced your grandmother's grandparents." - Mary Dunlavy 

"Hatred of bedbugs is the unifying factor of all sapient life," - Phee

"Original sin isn't real. There's only so much time you have to spend apologizing for the crimes of people you never knew. At the end of the day, you're only really responsible for yourself." - Enid Healy

“Mourner’s Waltz”

This was really cute. I’m glad Verity has friends to help care for her and her children. Malena was a nice surprise. She’s a fun character.

Favorite Lines

"Always take care of the living before you take care of the dead, and if you aren't sure which category someone falls into, always take care of the most people you possibly can." - Verity Price

"We've allowed you to wallow in grieving for this long because you're a gestating mammal, and gestating mammals are irrational. William said so." - Candice

Death Vigil Vol. 1 by Stjepan Šejić

Essentially, if you like eldritch horrors and a more human “Death” figure, you’ll like Death Vigil. There’s a good amount of action and mythology with a dash of X-Men-style power mixing. Even a fun mystery to boot. Sejic’s art, as usual, is very good.

I think most of the character work is well done. I do feel like Clara’s fairly generic, though, as a POV-ish character goes. I am looking forward to seeing that Sejic does with her, in the event we ever get more Death Vigil. I love Mia to death. Snarky teen girls with big power-ups are my jam. I’m also definitely in favor of Sam and Bernie actually being a couple, rather than this “we only kiss when there’s trouble” thing they’ve got going.

But yeah, Death Vigil is fun and definitely worth a read.

In Other News

I just finished another OviPets Project! This one was based on the Armor Digimon: Pipismon. Pipismon took me about 5 months to complete.

Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Slight spoilers included. Nothing too specific.

I am forever conflicted when mental illness is conflated or caused by supernatural elements of a story. I don't really have a problem with the supernatural making whatever the mental illness is worse or better, but being the root cause... that's sticky for me. That said, how this is dealt with in Persistence of Memory at least feels like a good representation of that... mostly. Having never experienced something like DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), I don't feel qualified to discuss that aspect of the story, so I will try to stay away from it, despite it being a rather big part of the story.

I actually quite liked most of the characters here. Erin felt like a mostly blank slate, even though she is arguably the main character. Sassy and Adjila were quite good as the love-interest-types. Shevaun... well... Shevaun mainly comes together in the last third of the book. I mostly the the feel of her as a mothering character with a wild streak. Given how short Persistence of Memory is, I feel like the characterization was mostly well done.

I definitely feel like the plot elements all crashed into place at the end, rather than revealing themselves more slowly. I don't think Single Earth/Marissa's inclusion would have ever been revealed without Alexander just handing over the info... and Pandora... I really, really want some kind of Pandora character study. We're told how she operates, but aren't really shown much of that. She's basically shamed into helping at the end, but otherwise doesn't really contribute much.

I'm overall conflicted about how to feel about the whole thing. I did enjoy the story, right up until the very end, though that wasn't dissatisfying either. Add in the mental health stuff... I do understand that Nyeusigrube is a world in which the supernatural is hidden and can come out in sudden ways. The epilogue definitely didn't help with this feeling. Even Erin's acceptance of the events leading to her "current" life feels kind of rushed. It's fine. It's honestly par for the course of this era of Nyeusigrube. At least I actually cared about the characters this time around.

Poison Tree by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Poison Tree. I read it once before but have zero memory of doing so. I mean, I remembered some after I started reading, but otherwise... much meh. I think it's the amount of characters all set up enough to be interesting, but none really given time to really develop that's my issue.

The pace is quite quick and the story ultimately enjoyable. It also fleshes out some of the issues at play at SingleEarth, especially when they don't dig into the past of their employees as well as they should.

I really, really would have liked a more insular story around Sarik, since that's essentially where the main conflict ends up. But again, she's fleshed out enough to be interesting, but not enough for me to really connect with her on the level I think would have made her shine.

Cainsville Overview

Cainsville by Kelley Armstrong

 

This post will contain spoilers for the entire Cainsville series, including all but one short-story and the novellas. You have been warned.

Cainsville was one of the few series in my life I managed to pick up as it was initially coming out. I followed it, apparently, right up until the last book (Rituals). I'm not sure how I managed to miss it at the time, but I did. I am happy to say that I have now finished the entire series and am mostly satisfied with how it turned out.

I was initially drawn to Cainsville because I very much enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld/Otherworld series and because the the Fae element. I haven't read many books or series with a strong Fae element thus far so I was excited to see where all this went. I was initially happy with the amount of Fae lore dropped in among the human mystery parts of the story, though that waned as the series went on. The Fae stuff was still there, it just wasn't as present or otherwise just disappointing. Honestly, the addition of the sluagh as the over-arching "Big Bad" of the series just tanked the ending for me. The sluagh turned out to be some connecting tissue that probably could have been more fleshed out, but just wasn't. While I was kind of wondering what exactly possessed Patrick to actually father Gabriel, I wasn't going to be fussed never finding out.

If you've read my reviews, you'll also know that I'm not a fan of the romance elements. Or rather, not a fan of the love triangle stuff. I liked Ricky and Olivia together, but I'm definitely not a fan of Gabriel and Olivia being end-game. I personally feel like a more polygamous bent to their relationship would have made more sense. That's not to say strong friendships shouldn't be valued or cultivated, as Olivia and Ricky's is, just that... I dunno, would have felt neater from a story perspective. Also, I really do feel like Gabriel feels more asexual than not. I'm an very aware that, like most things and especially sexuality, asexuality is a spectrum and Gabriel definitely fits with some of what I've experienced personally with my own asexuality... just... the way his relationship with Olivia progresses feels weird to me. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it, but it definitely feels like Gabriel should have been fine being the friend in this forced love-triangle thing. (I will talk more about that, I promise.) It didn't seem like he had any romantic feelings in Olivia's direction until the plot and the ghost of Gwynn demanded it. I'm just not a fan of how that all worked out.

So, speaking of Gwynn... I'm also not a fan of how this ridiculousness for coded into the Fae storyline. We've got the Tylwyth Teg vs the Cŵn Annwn. Gwynn vs Arawn over the affections of Matilda. That's the whole impetus for the entirety of Cainsville, ultimately. Welsh Fae nonsense, basically. (I say that affectionately, really.) So, basically, back in ye olden times, before humans were in any sort of power in Wales, this Fae Prince of the Tylwyth Teg (Gwynn) and the Lord of the Underworld, Leader of the Cŵn Annwn (Arawn) make a pact not to try and win the affections of their mutual friend who has blood from both their lineages (Matilda). Really, in the text, it's Arawn who decides this needs to be a pact and Gwynn just goes along with it for... reasons? They do not tell Matilda about this pact. Later on down the line, Matilda makes her affections for Gwynn clear to him and they plan to marry, but do not breathe a word of this to their "bestie" Arawn... for reasons? Arawn finds out at pretty much the last minute and confronts Gwynn about their "pact." Arawn decides to tell Gwynn that if Matilda comes to him on the night before their wedding, she's now Arawn's. A new "pact" is formed, apparently. They tell Matilda none of this. Gwynn does not try to stop her from going to Arawn. Weird magic happens and not only does Matilda lose Gwynn and the Tylwyth Teg, she dies. Neither man gets what he wanted... and they are now doomed to reincarnate over and over to replay this nonsense. Whoever the Matilda chooses, gets her magical power for that generation... or something. That part was a little unclear. Also unclear exactly why a two-way split couldn't just work, even though that's what ends up happening at the end of the series. What is very clear is that Arawn is an asshole.

So, Olivia is the Matilda, Ricky is the Arawn, and Gabriel is the Gwynn of this generation. Olivia is told by the Cainsville elders that she must choose which of these men she's going to be with because weird magic nonsense. This three-some is unhappy about this and basically end up dithering until a weird third-party magic "race" (the sluagh I mentioned earlier) enters the fray in Rituals. Oh, and neither the Tylwyth Teg nor the Cŵn Annwn want to give Olivia and information about themselves until she decides to let them start courting her. Again, this whole thing could have been solved by a "Persephone solution" as Olivia puts it... and is, at the very end.

But yeah, I'm not at all salty about any of this. And to be clear, none of this made me not enjoy the story. I did enjoy the ride... mostly. I think the whole situation is very silly and obviously spawned by an idiot teenager. This is in the text of the books, by the way, I'm not making that bit up. Arawn was an idiot teenager at the time the original "pacts" were made. It's just amazing they got turned into such a big thing, magically speaking.

Outside of the Welsh Fae stuff, there is a bit of outside Fae stuff. Greek Fae, to be precise. Lamiae and Dryads make an appearance. I very much liked the inclusion of something other than Welsh Fae. Wish there had been more. I'm pretty sure the Cainsville series wouldn't really have supported adding in more mythologies, given how insular Cainsville itself is, but... eh. That's me with my global mythology interest wanting what I can't have.

I liked the original spooky supernatural mystery vibe of Omens. That definitely drew me into the series. However, that vibe definitely decreased as the series went on. Olivia did very little omen-sensing after Omens. That ability was largely discarded in favor of visions, granted by some kind of generational Fae memory. The love-triangle thing took center stage, even with the "mystery of the book" happening outside of it.

I did this read-through chronologically, as I've been doing with series lately, and I feel like the short stories did add something to the overall series. However, the novellas were largely just a revisiting of the characters and their emotional states. With the short stories, we got looks at characters outside of the whole "Matilda" thing but still within the realm of the Fae/human interbreeding and what can happen with that. We got a glimpse of Patrick pre-Omens, Gabriel's childhood, and what TC was up to. I quite enjoyed these short stories. The novellas... I could honestly reread Cainsville quite happily leaving them out. As I've said before, they really just rehash Oliva and Gabriel's feelings on what they're going through and have been through. The last two, while slightly interesting in that they explore a bit of what happens after Rituals, don't really bring much to the table, in my opinion.

I realize a lot of what I've discussed here sounds quite negative. It probably is. However, Cainsville is quite well done overall and entertaining to boot. I really do enjoy it. I just have a heavy eye-rolling kind of feeling toward certain elements... obviously. I wouldn't have so much to say if Cainsville was boring, after all.

Very last note: The novellas include some art depicting certain scenes contained within them. They're... interesting. Mostly okay, but honestly, they make Olivia look a couple decades older than 24. I also don't think the illustrations really add anything to the stories.

Cruel Fate by Kelley Armstrong

Honestly... I was bored through most of this. Most of the character stuff was just rehashing things that had already been "taken care of" earlier in the overall narrative. The mystery was just kind of "bleh." There was no way Todd was going to end up back in jail after pretty much the entire Cainsville series was so focused on him getting out. Even the Fae stuff was just "meh."

Rough Justice by Kelley Armstrong

Rough Justice was an alright mystery story. Fairly twisty. Just kind of "whatever" for me, though. I wasn't at all invested in it, or either mystery, really. The mysteries take place firmly in the human world and that's honestly just boring to me.

I was much more interested in Olivia's Cŵn Annwn scene at the beginning than anything else in this novella. I've always been much more invested in the fantasy parts of the Cainsville novels, so this was really no surprise to me. Getting to "see" a Hunt was fun. It was a disappointingly short bit of the overall story, though.

I'm still not super into or really buying Gabriel and Olivia as a couple. Gabriel definitely reads more asexual to me than anything else, even despite his attraction to Olivia. They definitely work better for me as friends and business partners. The romance spark just doesn't feel like it's there.