Bleeders (Daemons of London #1) by Michaela Haze

Sophia was a barmaid in London. She had a life, friends, a job, a family

And then her sister died. Sophia fell into a deep, dark depression to which she is sure only vengeance against her sister’s murderers can possibly release her.

The hitman she reaches out to is a daemon - and though he is able and willing to do what she asks, in doing so she risks dragging herself, mind and soul, even further into the darkness

This book is a somewhat hard one to review - which is appropriate because it is a hard book to read.

The book is… powerful. Powerful is a good word: because it’s not fun. It’s not an easy story to read. It isn’t packed with action or even, for that much of plot or world building. Both are certainly there and create the setting and background for Sophia, but this book is about Sophia and her journey

Sophia does not lead an easy life. She suffers from extreme mental illness - depression, schizophrenia. She is pulled down by alcoholism. Most of this is triggered by the tragic death of her pregnant sister and her inability to get over this as well as her rage at the men she considers responsible for this. Sophia is a deeply damaged and hurting person and a lot of the book examines this. Her struggle with her mother, her struggle with mental illness, her alcoholism, self-harming, pushing friends away who care for her, her house denuded of all furniture for fear of invoking her sister’s memory while still maintaining a shrine to her sister.

The book is told from two different time periods - the present when Sophia is confined to a mental institution, suffering from some severe hallucinations and recounting her past while plagued by delusions and hallucinations. The other is the actual past she’s describing, drowning in depression and pain. Both are stark, brutal and very powerful

This continues when she find Henry and she starts to move out of her pain - and I admit I have a big note here screaming “gah, magical healing penis!” because she seems to be getting over her issues quickly. I then crossed it out - partly because of the woo-woo, but mainly because this is the next stage of her rollercoaster ride: obsession with him, abandonment, another addiction and hitting a whole new low of rock bottom as she transmutes her issues from one to another which does an excellent job of subverting the idea of romance healing all mental health issues

I also really like how even the base of her tragedy - her sister’s death and even her mother’s callousness are all just a bit more complex than she initially presents in her complete obsession. I like that, I like that things aren’t as simple as her angry, hurting mind portrays and that there are layers to her experiences which go beyond simplistic villains who hurt her.

Witch Hunt (Preternatural Affairs #1) by S. M. Reine

Cesar is a witch, a witch who investigates demons, other witches and any of the other magical things out there doing things they really shouldn’t. He’s doing well and seems to be on the fast track

Until he wakes up one morning to find a dead woman in his apartment – and absolutely no idea how she got there. The mundane, non-magical police naturally think he’s the one who did it. He waits for the magical people he works for to find the truth – only to find out that they, too, suspect him

Escaping  to prove his innocence seems to be the only choice – but as he follows the clues and hones in on the truth it becomes horrendously possible that maybe they’re all right. Maybe he’s guilty.

This book is a classic example of a good book 1. The introduction to a new series set in a world that the reader won’t be very familiar with (in this case, I am familiar because it’s the same world that is carried through all of S.M Reine’s books but this is from an entirely different angle from the previous books I’ve read. I actually love the way the different series come together, you don’t have to have read each series, but in reading them all you expand the world and context of all of them, adding a lot of texture), bringing in the main characters that I have a feeling are going to be with us for the whole series.

Where this book is a good book 1 rather than a merely solid one is that it didn’t let the introduction stand as a replacement for an actual interesting story. Not only that, but we didn’t even get a generic, decent-but-nothing-that-original story in book 1 that we often get (so readers can focus their brain power on the world and characters). This story is involved – it’s a story of investigation but, far more, it’s a story of betrayal and paranoia. Cesar needs to find out who framed him so he can clear his name and he needs to keep one step ahead of the powers that be – both magical and mundane – to remain free in order to do so (especially since the magical forces seem to have written him off and the mundane forces are clearly incapable of proving anything given the circumstances). But both of these vital, involved elements rest on a very shaky foundation – who can Cesar trust? There is, afterall, an apparent agent framing him – who could this be?

And this is where the book excels – because I honestly suspected EVERYONE. Even when Cesar trusted them I didn’t. Everyone was presented as a potential murderer and traitor – and that certainly includes Cesar himself. There are twists upon twists, suspect upon suspect and it’s truly shocking how many people seem to be the ones behind it – then maybe not – then back in the frame again. And yes, that includes Cesar. His memory loss, the witness statements and the very reality of what people claim he has done mean that, yes, there’s a very good chance Cesar may have been the killer himself. His attempts to prove himself innocent may, in fact, be just exposing his actual guilt.

The story is very action heavy, the investigation and cerebral elements rapidly overshot by having to flee another threat, or facing more confusion and danger. It’s very much an action book and it’s well written enough and visual enough to make that work and keep it exciting and flowing, making the story one to pull you in and hold you right to the end.

Fading Amber (Cambion Chronicles #3) by Jaime Reed

Sam wakes up at home to find her Cambion, Lillith, freaking out and a massive gap in her memories and a note from Lillith asking her to not poke at the gap and just accept the missing time.

Lillith really should know Sam better than that.

Still Sam has a lot on her mind – there’s her continued complicated relationship with Caleb, the investigation by the Santiago family of Cambions that could see Caleb dead (and their investigator entering a relationship with her mother), her best friend is still on the outs with her and Angie, another Cambion family head, is coming to visit from Poland.

And there’s Tobias – the incubus has just disappeared since her memory lapse and they have to wonder when he’s coming back and what actually happened to him

This concludes, neatly, the Cambion story – it’s always good to see a series ending that actually addresses all points and closes all doors, especially one that does it as well as this.

There were a few elements that I generally find irritating with teenaged protagonists – like Sam and Caleb running off on their own to solve their Tobias problem despite everything at stake and Sam’s mother deciding if she puts her foot down she can make everything go away. But on the former case we actually have a very good reason for their secrecy – since the Cambion families are quite happy to accept some collateral damage that is personally unacceptable to Sam. And, in the latter case, Sam’s mother can be talked round and made to see sense (kind of) beyond her initial panicked reaction.

The story itself was decently well paced. The whole memory lapse lead me to be a little confused at the beginning – but it all flowed well from there. There was a constant quest to figure out what had actually happened in that gap in Sam’s memories – as well as trying to fend off attack from the Santiago family, as well as exploring her relationship with Caleb and what she actually wants to do with that and further meeting Angie and getting on with life. We have a lot happening there but it’s all balanced – I like the way that no one event completely consumes Sam’s life, that she can’t put everything on hold and focus on one element. In fact, better than that, Sam refuses to put everything on hold and focus on one element. She has other things to do, other worries, other concerns.

I love Sam and Caleb’s relationship because Sam is so sensible about it. She doesn’t let emotions or hormones overwhelm her common sense. She finds Caleb extremely attractive (more so with their Cambions fighting to get closer) but doesn’t let that overrule all logic. There’s a wonderful line where she’s trying to lecture Caleb on him feeding too much and putting them all at risk and he has a tangent about how he hurts everyone and woe is him to which she responds:

Burning Emerald (Cambion Chronicles #2) by Jaime Reed

Sam is adapting slowly to having Lillith, to being a Cambion, but it isn’t easy. Her new powers of attraction are alienating her friends and a considerable number of her school peers and Caleb’s draw on her is growing to almost ridiculous degrees. Her own draw is attracting a lot of unwanted attention from men – one man in particular.

Malik, he never had time for her before, but now he’s paying far more attention to her. Far too much and he’s not taking no for an answer. With her new Cambion powers, Sam has an answer to that – but that just opens up a whole new secret she never imagined – and a secret that is tied heavily to Nadine’s – and Lillith’s – past.

Sam is now torn between what she wants and what Lillith wants and fighting to protect both the man she loves and the life she has, as the Cambions encroach more and more.

This is the second book in the series and has continued the pattern of taking us right to the edge of a trope and then completely subverting it. I see the trope approaching, I’m poised to skewer it and then – last second – we pull back from it and expose it as ridiculous as it is.

This time I thought we were going to have a love triangle. It had all the hallmarks. Here is the evil hot guy to counteract Caleb’s nicer-guyness. Evil Hot Love Interest is physically much sexier than Caleb, Evil Hot Love Interest embraces his evil predatory nature while Caleb fights it, Evil Hot Love Interest is more powerful – it’s a classic YA love triangle we’ve seen repeated over and over (usually with fangs and lots of moping and, as the author wonderfully skewers, with the CW logo in the corner). So I braced myself, I gritted my teeth aaand…

Subversion! I am debating needing a spoiler warning here, but it’s not really a spoiler – or is only a spoiler because this whole book genre has convinced us that super-powerful hot guys who kill people and stalk you are zomg so sexy! Sam appreciates that Tobias is a very attractive man, and there it ends. She doesn’t consensually work with him, he pushed and manipulates and it’s not a sign of twu luv and devotion, it’s a sign of predatory behaviour and Sam treats him (almost) accordingly.

Living Violet (Cambion Chronicles #1) by Jaime Reed

Sam knows what she wants and needs – she needs money for a new car, she has plans to go to college. She studies and she works. She doesn’t have the time or, frankly, the inclination for a hot romance.

Caleb would also rather like to avoid them – but you wouldn’t know it by the women constantly throwing themselves at him. Something that becomes only more sinister as they start dropping around him, unusual victims of heart attacks and worse. Sam seems to be one of the few immune to his allure, but is drawn into his world and its secrets anyway

I love that this is a YA paranormal romance that rewrites so many of the tropes we’ve seen so many times in one long delicious subversion.

We have a magical sexy power that causes the person to literally starve without sex (and other alternatives, but sex is definitely a big one). He needs sexual contact! And his power means nearly all women find him utterly irresistible to a point where the particularly lonely and broken hearted are driven to assault him in desperation.

Which sounds like another recipe for woo-woo justifying sexual coercion and forcing a relationship based on magic rather than genuine connection… but it doesn’t because Sam is immune. Yes, I was shocked too – they bring in a love interest with super sexy magic power then make the protagonist immune to them – completely immune to his coercive sexy magic, unswayed by his magnetism. Not only that but she doesn’t even think he’s all that hot. Oh he’s cute and all, in his way, but super-smoking, she-can’t-stop-thinking-about-him? Nope. Not at all, besides she’s not really in the market for a boyfriend anyway; partly it’s her parents fear of her following in their teenaged-pregnancy footsteps and partly her own disinterest and focus on other things in her life right now. Boys just don’t have to be her priority.

At which point I look at the author and wonder if they’ve got the right genre.

This leaves Sam and Caleb to become a couple through music and spending time together and mutual interests. It means that, while they do fall in love, they do so in a more organic, natural fashion after getting to know each other. There’s even one point when he asks how much she likes him and Sam says:

“You a’ight”
“Sam”
“What do you want me to say? We’ve just started talking” – I check my invisible watch – “a few weeks ago. We’re still in the introductory stage.”

Yes, I want to frame it and hang it in a museum for its sheer rarity. There’s no insta-love, there’s a slowly developed love. There’s no overwhelming, obsessive attraction – it’s just 2 people who get to know each other well and come to love each other.

In terms of plot, well I think this book is more an introduction of the concept, the world and characters. The plot of Sam just learning about this world and slowly growing closer to Caleb is a surprisingly solid plot that holds most of the first half together. It’s not exciting or riveting, but it’s not boring and introduces characters who are interesting enough in their own right to keep the book worth reading. Towards the end the plot of Caleb’s dad is brought in which is just right for that moment – the world and characters have been revealed, it’s time to get some meat on the bones and do something with them; it added both excitement and action as well as a cliffhanger to make the book more than just “and Caleb met Sam”, an ideal addition.

The Dresden Files: Season 1 Episode 9: The Other Dick

To continue to be a police consultant Harry, apparently, has to get his private investigator’s license, which involves class rooms and tests (well, given that he continually uses magic which doesn’t look good on police investigations and half of the cases he’s worked on must be marked unsolved, I think it’s a miracle he’s still a consultant at all). Unfortunately for Harry, the class isn’t a charity and he isn’t paying his fees – sending him begging to Murphy for money.

Oh, and for extra fun, his teacher (Brenan) turns up dead. Really, murdering the teacher in a private investigator school? Surely someone’s going to figure it out! (But it’d make a great final test wouldn’t it? Who murdered your teacher – for an A) and, of course, Harry was found over the body (which is such a habit of his Murphy doesn’t even suspect him any more. Honestly, Harry must stand around bodies waiting to be discovered lurking over them). The man was also charged with electricity – shocking Harry when he touched him

The main clue they have is that he was working on something before he died – though his notes are in code and his assistant, Fontaine (who thinks Harry should be arrested) knows nothing about it. Harry wants to solve this case because the deceased was a decent man, a good man. And Bob thinks he wants to solve it because Fontaine is an attractive woman. Of course, Bob is a dirty old lecher – but not always wrong when it comes to Harry and his disturbing  habit of getting very close to female clients.

Using some magic on the notes translates them and he heads to see Ronald Jones, HR manager at a meat packing plant where he meets up with and teams up with Fontaine.  Turns out Jones hired Brenan to follow his wife who was spending a lot more time away from home – but Brenan cleared her of having an affair, something Fontaine doesn’t agree with. There follows much tug of war between Harry and Fontaine over who is in the lead.

Following the wife, Felicity, leads them to many many shops and a fertility clinic in a ley line cluster – something Harry wants to follow up alone but ends up having to bring Fontaine along with him. Naturally, hilarity ensues. But Harry follows a ley line into a room. Now, I think the writer was aiming for this “alternative therapy room” to be full of creepy occult stuff (so the music implies). To me I just see a metric fuckton of candles with some rather abstract artwork and odd little potpourri piles. It’s quite pleasant, really. Anyway Felicity is being treated in the pleasantly decorated not-very-spooky occult room. Other than Brenan being grabby with Fontaine, they don’t find much else and leave with piccies of the occult room and a sample of tea from it.

Blood Ties, Season 1, Episode 6: Love Hurts

Vicki has what seems to be a mundane case in her office – Mr. Hausen believes his wife is cheating on him and wants her to investigate. Mundane, bread and butter work for a detective. I do have to have a little cheer moment for Vicki for her truly excellent advice and attempt to send him to couples therapy before resorting to a detective.

We flip to the wife of said couple indeed sleeping with someone else – then the screaming happens and we cut to an obvious crime scene investigation.  Marcy Hausen is dead and Vicki and Celluci are on scene (yes Vicki is at another crime scene). Mr. Hausen is fully aware how guilty he looks without an alibi and asks Vicki to investigate who killed Marcy, since the police will likely focus on him. And sure enough, Celluci’s sidekick and Show POC token #1, Detective Graham, shows up to question  Hausen.

Vicki decides to go to a bar with Henry for some flirting, vampire hand tricks and so Vicki can tell him all about the case she’s working on (showing that Vicki has the professional ethics of a goat) in what is, no doubt, yet another convoluted way to drag Henry into one of her investigations. More flirting follows before Henry flounces out of the room because Vicki makes a sex joke to defend Henry’s unwarranted criticism of Celluci’s professional capabilities.

Vicki goes to question Marcy’s friends who all say what a wonderful person she was and how happy they all are while knocking back the booze and eyeing up the Latino gardener, Emmanuel (Latino servant, let me mark off a notch in stereotype bingo).  Time for Vicki to question/flirt with sexy Emmanuel who was arranging the ladies’ flowers during the murder (there’s a new euphemism!).  She also gets to meet Bruce Caldwell, a husband of one of Marcy’s friends who begins pumping her for information and she begins spilling things like how she died to him (Goat Ethics strikes again). She also gets to poke around his totally-not-a-plot-point anthropological sculptures left to him by his grandmother. And Vicki photographs them. Why? I have not the slightest idea.

More flirting between Vicki and Henry where she tells him everything she’s thinking about the case and her suspicion of Emmanuel and the ladies’ flower arranging (did I mention the Ethics of a Goat?) with Henry jealous of the poetry quoting Emmanuel. Vicki, as ever, is perfectly, wonderfully snarky about it. But that night she has a vivid erotic foreplay dream with a man running his hands up and down her. She wakes highly perturbed and runs to Henry’s to see if he was the midnight groper. He wasn’t and we have some more flirting and Henry is upset because she would be relieved that he WASN’T running his hands on her body and how could she think it would be horrible – and Vicki, who is awesome, says artfully that it’d be entirely different if he were invited.

Some more sexy investigating and, yes, there’s more than flower arranging going on between Emmanuel and the lonely housewives and Vicki suspects them of lying. Now she could do her old detective work, but instead she’s going to drag Henry along to use his vampire mojo (oh Vicki, really? At least it’s cute when she makes him promise not to bite them). But despite all of his charm, all agree they were arranging flowers with Emmanuel and all resisted Henry’s charms

Time for a plot surge – Vicki is walking home with Coreen, discussing Vicki’s lack-of-sex life, Correen suggests her vivid sex dream the other night was an Incubus (foreshadowing, take note) and then we have screaming and Vicki running to try and save Isabelle (one of Marcia’s friends), in her bedroom who is having blue energy sucked out of her mouth by a cloaked and hooded figure who vanishes when she tries to smack him.

On to Henry who confirms that it was an incubus – demons who can put a whole house of people to sleep and then drag women’s souls to hell (and this is why he couldn’t charm the women, his ego is salved). And an internet search finds a picture of an incubus idol – which just happens to match one of the anthropological statues Bruce Caldwell has (the one Vicki randomly took a picture of. Booo bad plotting, bad plotting).

Vicki confronts Cheryl another of Marcia’s friends and she cracks – and talks about how they drunkenly and accidently activated the statue, the sex dreams they had afterwards and then Emmanuel appearing – and that they were all having sex with the said gardener.