The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire - 289 pages
October Daye Book 11

Fae private investigator October Daye finally has a moment to pause and breathe and focus on her upcoming marriage to longtime love Tybalt, King of Cats.  When her estranged mother Amandine (one of the First Born fae) shows up on October's doorstep demanding that she find her long lost sister it doesn't bode well for any future plans.  Her sister has been lost for over 100 years in a quest to return Oberon to the Fae.   

This series continues to be excellent urban fantasy with strong, fully realized characters in a lived in world.  I look forward to devouring the next installment. 

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - 272 pages

Lord Ballister Blackheart has a new sidekick -- Nimona.  She's a shapeshifter with issues against authority and The Institution.  As they battle the Institution, Nimona's powers seem to be more and more powerful.  Just who is Nimona and what is her end goal?

I listened to the audiobook version of Noelle Stevenson's graphic novel.  I had read the graphic novel when it first came out and found it interesting.  However, I kept putting off trying the audiobook.  I couldn't figure out how they would translate a graphic novel into an audiobook -- especially when the pictures are such a vital part of the story.  Turns out, I liked the audiobook better than the print version.  They added a narrator that told what was happening in the pictures.  I think it worked better that way.  I would definitely recommend this audiobook to anyone -- kid, teen or adult.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - 266 pages

The villain Lord Ballister Blackheart is surprised when a young shapeshifter shows up at his door claiming to be his new sidekick.  Nimona won't take no for answer.  Together they work to bring down the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics and Blackheart's old friend the hero Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin.

This was an amusing graphic novel.  It wasn't until the end of the book that I found it out had been a web comic before being printed in text.  An interesting story for teens to read with heroes and villains often changing places.

Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts

Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts - 341 pages
The Circle Trilogy - book 2

In this book, the six warriors of the Circle take the battle to Gaell.  It also focuses on the romance between the shapechanger Larkin and the demon hunter Blair.

I actually enjoyed the second book more than the first book in the series.  It caught and kept my attention from the beginning.  I'm looking forward to book three.

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins, 327 pages
(#3 Hex Hall Series)

In possibly the final installment of the Sophie Mercer story, Sophie alone has escaped the clutches of the evil Casnoff sisters with her demon powers bound inside of her. As she tries to discover what has happened to her vampire bestfriend, demon father, warlock fiance and her "works for the enemy" love interest, Sophie will uncover far more than she imagined. After having her world rocked by several revelations, Sophie must pull her self together to: 1. Find her friends and her father. 2. Unlock her magic that has been tucked away inside her. and 3. Stop the Casnoff sisters thereby ceasing their plot to amass a demon army by changing all of her classmates into demons. Being powerless is a problem until Elodie steps in to save Sophie's skin more than  few times. By far my favorite of the series save for a few story-lines that went sour in my opinion. Most notably was Cal's story. I really thought the author could have done more for Cal than she did. Other than the few flaws, I was overall happy with the "ending."