One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Demon Hunter, Book 1
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 384 Pages, 5375 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Kindle


In a little town called Hannah, Alabama, Addy Corwin went for a run with her dog and ended up marked by a demon and protected by a gorgeous demon hunter from another dimension. Oh, and she's not quite human any more, either. Just goes to show, sometimes sitting at home munching on MoonPies and watching the boob tube is a safer way to live.

Now the boring small town, a town where nothing interesting ever happens, is revealed as a demon hot spot and Dalvahni warriors such as Brand are coming out of the woodwork. Well, okay, less wood, more glowing portals from their dimension to ours, but still. Ten thousand years old, immortal, these emotionless fighters are on an eternal quest to catch or kill the djegrali, the demons. But Brand had never met anyone like Addy before, and emotionless just doesn't cut it when faced with a mighty southern female who throws herself into every tetchy situation she finds even as she avoids the most perplexing things, like the female known as the mama.

As Addy's world expands to include talking dogs and flying cats, walking corpses missing their dangly bits, and big hulking warriors with entitlement issues, Brand and his warrior brother Ansgar have to learn to adjust to more than just a human town, they have to adjust to the South. And there just ain't no way that's going to end well.

This hysterical romp of a paranormal romance was such a fun read! Yeah, sure, I wanted to poke my eyes out at the cliched and hackneyed first chapter...or two...but when I realized that one should only read Demon Hunting In Dixie with their tongue firmly planted in their cheek, I settled back and enjoyed one of the funniest books I've read recently. It was a riot.

There isn't much in the way of thorough world building or complex character definition, the plot is a bit simple, just about every southern colloquialism that exists is bandied around as dialogue, and the stereotypes and cliche are rapid-fire punchlines to decadently sophomoric jokes, but it made me snort, giggle, and guffaw at regular intervals. It got to the point where all I had to read was Brand saying, "This I can not allow," and I was snickering.

Definitely a book that will be either loved or hated, there just isn't much room for ambivalence here. Sure, the plot was simple, but it was solid enough, and honestly, I've never read anything quite like it before, so it has originality going for it. Addy and Brand were completely likable, and the adjustments they have to make to deal with one another were some of the funniest parts of the book. There was a pleasant amount of sexual chemistry between them and a few deliciously seductive sex scenes. The romance plot thread was the more heavily featured part of the book, and though it started fast and was based far more on lust than emotion or mutual admiration, it was definitely a nice change from many of the paranormal romances I've read of late that seem to forget that there's actually supposed to be a romance developing amidst all the other threads.

True, the secondary characters were mostly caricatures and stereotypes, but I'm sorry, I wouldn't have missed the weenie in a bag and the slap down at the funeral home for anything! I was near rolling on the floor at that scene! In fact, I think this is the only book I've ever read where I was annoyed when the threat of the demon threat started to play a larger part because the hilarity was, as one would expect, considerably toned down.

Sure, the humor was mostly regional and very sophomoric, and okay, I suppose if I look at it clinically it probably wasn't the most surprising book I've ever read. Maybe it speaks volumes that I enjoyed it as much as I did, or calls my taste into question. I don't care. I'm southern. I know mamas like Addy's (not my own, thankfully). I've been to small towns like Hannah, and eaten at places like the Sweet Shop (though with considerably less topiary and dancing in the dining area). I related to all those cliches, just about every one of those stereotypes, and reveled in them all. In short, I just had a real nice time while reading. I can't wait to get my hands on more.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Walker Papers, Book 6
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 368 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle


It's been fifteen months since cop mechanic and cynic Joanne Walker became warrior shaman and Seattle detective. In those fifteen months, she's been stabbed, hung, strung out, strung up, wiped out and beat down. She's done battle with creatures that aren't supposed to exist outside of grim horror stories or fantasy books. She's had crises of faith, been riddled with self doubt and guilt, and gotten several close friends almost killed just by associating with her. But she ain't dead yet.

And for Joanne, born Siobhán Walkingstick, that's practically a victory in and of itself.

There is one thing that Joanne's never done; she's never shot anyone. Until the night her and her partner Billy Holliday were sent to respond to a domestic disturbance call and walked into a murder scene. While clearing the house, the suspect surprises them and takes a swing at Billy's head with a nail-studded baseball bat. Joanne takes her down, and suffers a psychic backlash that lets her know in no uncertain terms that there is a bit of a conflict brewing between the cop she wants to be and the shaman she is.

Even six months ago that sort of emotional fallout and short blitz of her shamanic powers would have freaked Joanne out or seriously disrupted her confidence, but Joanne's lived a lot in a short amount of time and she's both growing into her powers and growing up. Still, police regulations puts her on a mandatory three day suspension following the shooting, and she's okay with that, really. It's not like trouble won't find her anyway. It always has. It probably always will.

Of course it did.

A psychic murder, a touring troupe of spirit dancers, disappearing homeless, an abrupt incidence of shapeshifting...yeah, those are bad problems, but none of them are what has Joanne most discombobulated. No, that top prize is awarded to perhaps the most bizarre thing Joanne's ever dealt with, including the craziness of her life the last few months: a date with her boss, Captain Morrison.

Say what you will about Joanne Walker, her life is definitely never boring.

This sixth installment of The Walker Papers is a streamlined, pared down actionfest with a more poised and confident Joanne at the helm. It's hard to believe that the character who once annoyed me with all the whining about the general suckiness of the shamanic side of her life has blossomed into this slightly jaded, world-weary yet valiant warrior who is starting to finally grasp the big picture of her destiny. She's evolved into a character that I thoroughly enjoy and one I find comfortably easy to relate to for all her very normal and believable quirks and foibles.

The plot of Spirit Dances is far more cohesive than its predecessor, and either I'm getting used to the world or there just wasn't so much of the woo-woo stuff that normally makes my brain hurt, because I found this book far easier to follow and never felt overwhelmed by the magical aspects. I've always loved the first person point of view narration, because Joanne is the sort of sarcastic, self-effacing, honest-with-herself type that I find caustically humorous, but I've never been all that clear on some of the more esoteric scenes in the books in this series. There were blessedly few of them here, and the Big Bad was much easier to wrap my head around than some of the others have been.

The flip side of that coin (because obviously, I'm never satisfied) is that in this instance it felt a little too much of the depth and complexity had been stripped away, with a plot that was relatively - and surprisingly - one-note. The shaman crime solving was pretty cut and dry, the perpetrator revealed without too much fuss, and the ancillary plot threads were fewer and more widely spaced through the book.

There was far more Morrison than in any previous book, though, so I certainly can't complain overly much, as their scenes have always been my favorite part of this series, but beyond him, Billy, and Billy's wife Melinda, there was hardly any of the secondary and ancillary characters that we've previously met. I felt Gary's absence most keenly, as he was away from town when all the shenanigans started kicking up, but there wasn't much of anyone else we know, nor much in the way of new characters that look like they might stick around for awhile.

On the character development front, we got a few pretty massive upgrades for Joanne. She seems to be on the precipice of something significant and life altering and I'm looking forward to seeing where her journey takes her. There were also some great moments between Joanne and Morrison that I've been waiting for, hoping for, and praying for since the first book, but like everything else in this Murphy-created world, satisfaction goes hand-in-hand with frustration. I just don't trust that there won't be the one-step-forward-three-steps-back tango in even more detail the next go 'round.

The smooth, conversational writing style and the ever-growing confidence, increased competence, and complete likability of Joanne are strong attractors for this series, and significant changes and happenings in this book make it a must-read for fans. I sincerely hope book seven will be out later this year, but wouldn't be surprised if it's not available until early next. I'm torn between anticipation and nerves over the next one, because the Spirit Dances conclusion seemed a bit open-ended and took me by surprise. I'd say that this almost felt like a transitional book in the series, but honestly, some of the weighty importance in several scenes make me think it could be even more than that. A true turning point has been reached. I look forward to the new direction.

Disclosure: This book was provided to me free of charge through the Amazon.com Vine program for the purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments, and ratings are my own.