7.
Title: Girl of Nightmares
Author: Kendare Blake
Pages: 332
Genre: YA Horror
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: January 18, 2012
Rating: **1/2

The weakest plot device of the first book, Anna Dressed in Blood, takes center stage in the sequel, Girl of Nightmares.  There is no greater believability in the second book, the tension is slow to build, and the narrative delves into one 1970s B-movie cliche after another.  That all being said, the conclusion to the action is highly satisfactory, making me glad I continued to read after all. 

5.
Title: Primal Bonds
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Pages: 320
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January ?, 2012
Rating: ***

6.
Title: Kitty Goes to Washington
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Pages: 360
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Purchased
Date Completed: January 15, 2012
Rating: ****

Kitty Norville, late-night radio DJ, is an unlikely werewolf after surviving two different - and  yet similar - attacks in a single night.  After a series of conflicts lead to a near-challenge of her pack leader, Kitty finds herself essentially exiled from her home, and taking her radio show on the road, a la gypsy-like traveling. Along the way she is asked to speak at a Congressional hearing, and finds herself in DC, and in regular trouble.

"Discovery" is something that many urban fantasy authors attempt to address, with varying success.  One of my favorite "unveilings" is Kim Harrison's, which blames a mutant strain of tomatoes for killing off a large chunk of the human population, while leaving supernaturals unharmed.  Whoops.  Vaughn's broadcasting seems to suggest that Kitty herself is a primary player, which challenges believability.  However, when Vaughn brings the consequences to DC, and shows the political ramifications of such a discovery, she slams right back into reality.  The bureaucracy, the red tape, the hearings, the politicians arguing, the reporters hounding - if the word "werewolf" was not included it could easy read like contemporary politics.  This is a great strength in Vaughn's book, and makes the series promising in the future. 

I found something else particularly interesting: Alette, the "master" vampire of DC.  In Kitty Goes to Washington, the most powerful vampire in the immediate area carries a strong and often neglected role in the genre - she is a mother.  And, she suggests at the novel's conclusion, she becomes a vampire to become a better mother to her two children.  This maternal role is not entirely unique, but is often played in the opposite fashion - female vampires are often incapable of reproduction or maternal roles (with notable exceptions, I know) - and alludes to the deeper history of vampire mythology, which goes back to Lillith's revenge for her own children, the Greek Gello, etc.  Alette is a bit of a missing link in contemporary fiction, and a character I find very rewarding. 

4.
Title: Pride Mates
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Pages: 304
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January 4, 2012
Rating: ****

It's not often that I will rate a romance book a 4-star read (even if I rate within genres instead of across the spectrum), but the first book in Ashley's "Shifters Unbound" series is just that, because she managed to make me extraordinarily uncomfortable within the parameters of an otherwise traditional shapeshifter romance.  The source of my discomfort wasn't the romance itself, and ultimately isn't unique to Ashley's work: she left me shuddering at racism and bigotry.  In her series, shapeshifters have been revealed, and the expected tension arises from humans, but the American creation of a distinct second class is all too familiar and ugly.  Instead of outright slaughtering shapeshifters, the government forces them to wear "Collars" - part magic and part technology that cannot be removed, and deliver debilitating pain when the wearer acts violently (even in self defense).  Shapeshifters are also forced to live in "Shiftertowns" - isolation camps (they are free to leave, just not live elsewhere), are not allowed technology, can only work minimum wage jobs, and are not allowed to even apply to four-year universities.  Much of the tension in the novel (smartly) pulls from this prejudice, and leaves the novels feeling all too familiar.  I appreciate that the conflicts are not insular to the world of supernaturals, and doesn't provide an easy peace.  This is a matter that most paranormal authors have to face sooner or later, and this particular account is far too ugly to not be believable. 

2.
Title: "Orion's Way"
Author: DC Juris
Pages: 30
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January 3, 2012
Rating: *

The premise of "Orion's Way" is interesting: a vampire who has experienced sexual abuse works to reclaim his role in a BDSM "lair" to keep his partner.  However, the story does not deliver, as it remains cryptic and vague.  Even erotic short stories contain some development, and this story has none beyond the final sex scene.

3.
Title: [Saint's Curse]
Author: Lee Brazil
Pages: 60
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January 3, 2012
Rating: ***

"Saint's Curse" is a m/m paranormal romance that focuses on the all-important discovery of one's paranormal status by his partner.  With more development than Juris's story, "Saint's Curse" is more narratively satisfying, although the "action" is superfluous to the plot (and sex) line.  The self-loathing of the werewolf is a bit too gratuitous, and smacks of "closeting," which I'm sure is no coincidence.  Overall, while not suiting my present purposes, the story delivers on its promise.